No, it certainly didn’t unfold according to script, but the Towers of Channelside, as we have learned, has finally sold out. What had become a real estate flipper’s nightmare is now a 257-unit sellout.
Sure, the prices were drastically discounted, and nobody made a killing. But at least there’s one fewer Potemkin Village residential project. What’s critically important for the Channel District/downtown region, however, is that today’s bargain-hunter buyers plan to live there. That’s certainly the word on the Towers.
Ultimately, any revitalization scenario–from the arts to restaurants–can never realize its potential without people living downtown. Curtis Hixon Park has now refuted the perception (ok, reality) that “There’s no there there” in downtown Tampa. Museums and the noticeable infilling of the Riverwalk are integral pieces in the ongoing makeover.
But it’s residents, not residential units and amenities, that make a city. The Channelside sellout may not yet be a towering trend, but it’s a good sign. We’ll take it.