Neighborhoods take shape on Water Street in downtown Tampa

We were away on Mother’s Day, so last week my wife wanted a make-up brunch and she chose the edition on Water Street in downtown Tampa.

I’ve been to Water Street before. But it’s been a few years since it opened and the place hasn’t become part of my routine. Certainly, I will visit some regular spots in the area and swing through the channel district that will return from Ybor City. But my house is 10 minutes away. What is the draw to a hotel, medical school, or another fine restaurant?

We sat outside for a meal and a show as this downtown neighbour was bringing life. Water Street Tampa says “neighborhood” because its condos, apartments, offices, restaurants, bars and shops extend across the blocks in all directions, and so is it over a single street. Delivery truck pulled to the curb with meat and vegetables. People lined up outside the bakery for baguettes. In her uniform, her 20s were cornered by work. A poodle that doubles the topiary that bouncing along the sidewalk. The atmosphere was fresh, busy and local, and downtown Tampa had a heartbeat that was always lacking.

We trooped the omelette and the best sausage ever made before trooping into the south. Amary Arena, home to Tampa Bay Lightning, went to Garrison Channel, where longtime owner Jeff Vinnik helped develop Water Street. River taxis and dinner cruises are busy preparing for another day. Tourists were hustled under the shade to peek at the downtown map, as others were avoided and hustled to make a signal.

We went back north and looped towards Meridian, plunging through the tower. Taking the environment on foot only amplified changes in Tampa’s landscape and economics. A few years ago, these blocks were nothing more than warehouses and parking, weeds, trash, and broken glass. It was a good running route back then – flat, open, soft from the channel, with a Bliny-style breeze, but a clutter of ugly and negligence. Who is this wasteland fascinating the first five-star hotel in Tampa, or the people who stay at them, or others who gush out for the opportunity to live and work nearby?

That last question probably kept me away from Water Street. I live in a very different tax range and the buildout always seemed promising, but it also felt a temporary and artificial person to the person my great grandparents were welcomed by Lutz. The windows looked like frost in my backyard.

But as the morning and the block passed, I realized that Water Street was merely a rebirth of history. Migrate once Ybor City or Tampa Heights or Old West Tampa. Most regions, especially urban areas, regularly reinvent themselves. It is the result of many things from population change to technology and private markets. The city standing still remains.

Water Street is shaping Tampa’s character, just as past experiences have transformed into memories. As children, we took our uncle’s boat to Seddon Island and harassed the snake long before the railroad sold the sandbar to Harbor Island (yeah, “u”). The idea for Water Street might have been a foreigner to me, but there were no Tampa, no Palios, Colonnade, or hat corners. People go ahead, and so are times, and cities rich in history find new ways and places to thrive.

Will Water Street be my go-to place? Probably not. Driving to a comfortable, mixed-use neighborhood will beat your purpose. However, the building is refined, the restaurants are beautiful, and the sidewalks are bustling with colour and energy. It has a sense of place and identity that surprised me, and intimacy cannot be denied. Water Street also has rooms and weights, allowing you to bring that electricity further downtown core and use it. Not to mention these omelettes and sausages.