The announcements came in the same, mid-July week. One had to do with Riverwalk additions, the other was about a consultant hired by the Tampa Hillsborough Economic Development Corp. One had to do with plans for waterfront historical monuments, the other had to do with corporate recruiting.
They are about this city’s history, which not enough folks know about, and its future, which can only be envisioned. They are complementary components, Exhibits A and B of what’s afoot around here these days.
Friends of the Riverwalk–aided by the unveiling help of Mayor Bob Buckhorn and Hillsborough County Commissioner Sandy Murman–formally presented renderings of monuments that would honor three of the most significant events in Tampa’s history: the introduction of the cigar industry, the connection of Henry Plant’s railroad to Tampa’s port and World War II. If fund-raising is successful, they would be added to the dozen and a half historic busts that now dot the Historical Monument Trail.
Commissioner Murman called them “iconic symbols” that can help drive heritage tourism. Mayor Bob said they would be a “constant reminder of how we got here” and “who we are.”
Put another way, cities can’t realize their potential unless they have a understanding of their past, their identity. That’s more of a challenge in a city like Tampa where most residents are from somewhere else. This can be an exercise in learning as well as bonding. We can all move forward into the future as Tampanians who don’t just reside here.
And that’s where the addition of Gray Swoope and his VisionFirst Advisors consulting firm comes in. Swoope used to be Florida’s secretary of commerce and CEO of Enterprise Florida. He has connections and an M.O. that Tampa–and its patron saint, Jeff Vinik–need.
He’s also a downtown Tampa believer.
He was notably on hand last December as a presenter when Vinik rolled out his $1 billion, 40-acre, “live, work, play and stay” development near Amalie Arena downtown. He’s known from the get-go of Vinik’s top priority: a major corporate relocatee to complement the USF Medical School, residential, retail, nightlife amenities and maybe MOSI.
Now he’s in the private sector with Hillsborough’s EDC as a client. His assignment: Recruit one or more Fortune 1000 companies to this metro area. To this downtown. “I think the timing is right for headquarters in Tampa,” underscores Swoope.
Swoope now joins Vinik, Mayor Bob Buckhorn and EDC chief Rick Homans as effective pitchmen for this market.
His recruitment was a critical step in the corporate recruitment, the key catalytic element to take downtown Tampa to the next level. To a place that will link yesteryear’s cigar workers with tomorrow’s millennial workforce.
And if Swoope pulls this off, perhaps he should be kept on to pitch mass transit to locals.