Westshore E-News: News from the Westshore Alliance
IN THIS ISSUE: FEBRUARY 2018
ALLIANCE NEWS + EVENTSWSANewsEvents
WESTSHORE ALLIANCE 35th ANNUAL MEETING
presented by Highwoods Properties

Celebrate Westshore's recent success stories and preview new initiatives that will continue to position the District as a thriving activity center located in the heart of the Tampa Bay region.
 
February 28, 2018
Raymond James Stadium - West Stadium Club
Cocktail Reception and Program: 5 - 7 pm
$75 Members / $95 Prospective Members

 
THANK YOU TO OUR EVENT SPONSORS!

Sponsorships Available!  Average attendance of more than 400 guests representing some of Tampa Bay's most prominent companies provides an excellent opportunity to showcase your company as an Annual Meeting event sponsor. View sponsorship details,  and contact Rosemary Bidwell for more information. 
MORE UPCOMING WESTSHORE ALLIANCE EVENTS
Alliance After-Hours Networking
Feb. 13
5 - 7 pm
The Godfrey Hotel & Cabanas Tampa
7700 W. Courtney Campbell Causeway
Members: FREE, Prospective Members: $15

WESTSHORE 101
Mar. 6
8:30 - 9:30 am
The Millennium Westshore
4400 W. Spruce St.
FREE event

Committee Meetings (Westshore Alliance Members Only)
Transportation Committee
Mar. 7 from 10 - 11:30 am
AECOM
RSVP


View a complete list of Westshore Alliance events  HERE .
WELCOME NEW MEMBERS!
AC by Marriott
Dr. John McCormick
Dunkin Donuts, Inc.
Embassy Suites Hilton Tampa Airport Westshore
LOGISTECH CONSULTING, LLC
Shore Capital
Snell Engineering Consultants
Tampa Bay Hospitalists, LLC
Tampa T Shirts
The Reserves Network
Do you know someone who could benefit from Alliance membership? Refer a new member and receive a certificate for FREE admission to an upcoming Westshore Alliance luncheon. Learn more about membership benefits.
MEMBERSHIP MILESTONES
Thank you to the following companies that have recently renewed their Alliance membership.

20+ Years
Cushman & Wakefield of Florida, Inc.
International Plaza and Bay Street

15-19 Years
Brinks
McKibbon Hospitality

10-14 Years
America's Capital Partners
Avison Young
Carter & Verplanck, Inc.
Cypress Bay Condominium Association
Hyatt Place Tampa Airport/Westshore
Redstone Commercial
Total Wine & More


5-9 Years
Brimmer, Burek & Keelan, LLP
Carrollwood Country Club
Colliers International
Continental Wholesale Diamonds, LLC
USAmeriBank

1-4 Years
Air Culinaire Worldwide, LLC
All Media Marketing, LLC
Bluleadz
Commercial Florida Management Services
Gordon J. Schiff, P.A.
Gries Investment Fund
Hill Ward Henderson
HNTB Corporation
iVenture Solutions
Jefferson Westshore Apartments
Maggiano's Little Italy
Ryan Nece Foundation
Superior Construction Company
Synovus Bank
Westshore Yacht Club, a WCI Community

Please support these businesses who support 
the vital work of the Westshore Alliance.
BUSINESS + DEVELOPMENTBusinessDevelopment
Cushman & Wakefield  recently published its Q4 2017 Tampa Office MarketBeat Report. Westshore's overall vacancy rates are reported at 9%, and the District continues to lead Hillsborough County with the highest asking rent rates. View the full report.
AC Hotel Opens at MetWest International
The AC Hotel Tampa Airport by Marriott International Inc. is now open at MetWest International on Boy Scout Blvd. The hotel is designed to appeal to millennial travelers and features 175 European-inspired guest rooms, 2,000+ square feet of meeting space, the AC Lounge, fitness center, outdoor pool and bar. MORE
With millennials in mind, the Tampa Marriott Westshore has transformed all of its 310 guest rooms as well as other areas of the hotel in a $20 million renovation of the property. MORE
The newly renovated 149-room Springhill Suites Tampa Westshore hotel located at 4835 W. Cypress St. has been sold, along with two other Marriott hotels, as part of a $68.75 million transaction. MORE
Rocco's Tacos to Celebrate Grand Opening
Rocco's Tacos  will celebrate its grand opening at International Plaza and Bay Street  on February 11. Additionally, dinner service at the South Florida-based Mexican restaurant begins February 12, followed by lunch on February 19.  MORE
La Segunda Central Bakery, a family-owned Ybor City institution and the largest producer of Cuban bread in the world, is coming to Westshore in early summer 2018. The 3,000-square-foot bakery and cafe at the redeveloped 4001 W Kennedy Blvd. shopping plaza will offer seating for the first time, both indoors and outdoors, a barista coffee bar, to-go window and parking. MORE
Florida Retail Partners negotiated a 5,315 square-foot lease at 4545 W. Kennedy Blvd. with suite rental and beauty service provider Salon Lofts. MORE
Amgen, one of the world's leading biotechnology companies, recently opened its capability center at Corporate Center One after selecting the location from more than 400 cities evaluated during its search. MORE
Robert Yelverton cuts the ribbon with Andrew Mintz and Ignacio Armas
New Women's Care Florida Center Celebrates Grand Opening
The new women's specialty health center for 
Women's Care Florida  (WCF) physician group celebrated its grand opening in January. The 63,829-square-foot facility located at 5016 W. Cypress St. was developed by national healthcare real estate firm  NexCore Group  and offers imaging and high-level surgical services while serving as WCF's hub for its west and central Florida locations.
Cushman & Wakefield has negotiated the sale of Bay West, a 195,558-square-foot office property located at 5660-5840 W. Cypress St., for $20.25 million on behalf of Equus Capital Partners, Ltd. MORE
Westshore-based Carter Validus Mission Critical REIT Inc. recently sold a portfolio of 14 data center properties to a pair of Singapore-based real estate investment firms for $750 million. MORE
Tech company Transflo is receiving fresh funding from a San Francisco private equity firm. The investment comes after a new federal mandate requiring interstate commercial trucks and commercial buses to be equipped with electronic logging devices to record driving hours. Transflo's electronic logging device records the data, then sends it to a mobile application where drivers manage the information. MORE
Redevelopment plans are underway for the Jerry Ulm Dodge site at 2966 N. Dale Mabry Highway. The car dealership submitted its application to the City of Tampa in pursuit of a PD rezoning to redevelop the existing dealership and add a 52,191-square-foot Rooms To Go furniture center on the property's corner facing Columbus Dr. and Dale Mabry Highway. 
TRANSPORTATIONTransportation
It's a big month at Tampa International Airport! Check out the latest news below:
  • Tampa International Airport train and car rental center open Feb. 14, with big office project in the pipeline MORE
  • Tampa International getting high-end, mobile-app-based car rental service MORE
  • Tampa International soars to record passenger numbers with new flights (Video)
  • Tampa International's newest West Coast flight takes off MORE
Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority (HART) is adjusting bus routes and schedules effective February 28. Routes and schedules serving the Westshore area include:
  • Route 34 (Hillsborough Ave.) will increase to 15-minute frequency for weekday service. Sunday service improves to 30-minute frequency.
  • Route 35 (previous 60LX) from Tampa International Airport to the Northwest Transit Center will increase to 30-minute frequency.
  • Minor routing changes include the Westbound routes 15 (Columbus Dr.) and 32 (Dr. MLK Blvd.) which will now also serve the bus stop at the International Plaza parking lot near Dillard's.
Several other routes that serve the Westshore area will see minor scheduling changes. New schedules will be available on or before February 21 on HART's website.
The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) began construction on a 220-foot bridge on the Courtney Campbell Causeway west of Ben. T. Davis Beach last month. The bridge will improve water quality and restore tidal flow in the northeast portion of Old Tampa Bay. Intermittent la ne closures are taking place from 8:30 pm to 6:30 am during construction. The Causeway and the pedestrian/bicycle trail will remain open during construction, and users are encouraged to remain alert to shifts in the roadway and trail alignments. Project completion is scheduled for summer 2019.
COMMUNITY + MEMBER NEWSComm.MemberNews
Country music artists Luke Bryan, Sam Hunt, Jon Pardi and Morgan Wallen are coming to Raymond James Stadium on June 23, 2018. MORE
Paint Your Heart Out Tampa is a one-day volunteer effort to paint the homes of the low income, elderly residents of Tampa. Volunteers and sponsors are needed for this year's Paint Day on April 21. MORE
Join CareerSource Tampa Bay for its Tampa Bay Intern Hiring Event on February 22 from 2 - 4 pm and find your next great intern. Employers hiring recent grads are also welcome to attend, and sponsorship opportunities are available. For more information, please contact Jason Druding at 813-397-2088 or drudingj@careersourcetampabay.com.
Congratulations to the six Tampa hotels that recently received four-diamond ratings from AAA, including three Westshore hotels:  Grand Hyatt Tampa Bay, Renaissance Tampa International Plaza and Westin Tampa Bay. MORE
For the second year in a row, Cigar City Brewing is named one of 10 best brewers in the world by Ratebeer. MORE
Smith & Associates Real Estate recently announced a record-breaking 2017, leading the Tampa Bay market in luxury home sales. MORE
Tampa Hackerspace is making headlines again for its innovative workshops. First, a team from the nonprofit group won a competition to help NASA affordably explore deep space. Now a different group from the workshop that provides equipment and space for technology projects is advancing in another contest, this one to invent autonomous underwater mapping devices that can make deep-sea exploration economical. MORE
COMMUNITY + MEMBER EVENTSComm.MemberEvents