The Encore development starting to emerge on the northeast corner of downtown Tampa will be one of the biggest redevelopment efforts in the region in years. We’re following it from the start and will periodically update it progress and look at different angles in how the project — a public private partnership between the Tampa Housing Authority and Banc of America Community Development Company. — is shaped, and shaping the larger neighborhood. The introductory story ran in the St. Petersburg Times here earlier this month. Check… Read more
Groundbreaking Held at The Ella at ENCORE! Senior Apartment Homes
Nearly 200 people attended the groundbreaking ceremony for the first apartment community, The Ella at ENCORE!®, which will welcome senior residents to ENCORE! in late 2012. The event held special significance, not only for the new vision about to be realized, but also for all the progress that has already been made. We want to express our sincere thanks and appreciation to the City of Tampa, political officials, former residents, neighborhood stakeholders, and friends. Your efforts and support are invaluable as we work together to build ENCORE – Downtown’s Tempo District… Read more
Infrastructure Job Fairs at ENCORE! Site
In February, more than 700 subcontractors attended the first ENCORE! job fair, which was held at the construction site located at Cass & Nebraska in downtown Tampa. The following month, more than 5,000 people attended the second ENCORE! job fair. Today, ENCORE! is moving forward as planned with permitting, and follow-up construction interviews are scheduled for May. The first contract to be executed – the infrastructure contract – was signed April 11. By the fall of 2010, an estimated 350 – 400 jobs will be created to complete the 14 – 16 month infrastructure project.
ENCORE!® represents urban renewal in harmony with… Read more
Construction job fair in Tampa draws thousands of applicants
Rich Zahn ordered 2,000 hot dogs to feed job seekers at his construction job fair, figuring he’d have several hundred left over.
He underestimated just how hungry the area’s depleted construction industry is — for jobs.
Before the hiring event kicked off at 10 a.m. Thursday, several hundred people had lined up at the construction fair set up on an open field at Cass Street and Nebraska Avenue. And the crowd continued to grow.
Before the fair ended at 3 p.m., organizers estimated the turnout at between 4,200 and 4,700.
“It’s triple what… Read more
Real Estate Rebirth
Leroy Moore and the Tampa Housing Authority have teamed up with Bank of America to transform a former public housing project into a thriving 28-acre commercial and residential area.
Leroy Moore is hoping the third time is the charm.
Moore heads the team working on the 28-acre mixed-use development called ENCORE!, the eastern portion of downtown Tampa seen as the gateway to Ybor City and the Channel District.
ENCORE! was once the Central Park Village public housing area, but today it is a vacant stretch of land with one building, an old abandoned Episcopal Church, sitting between… Read more