Tampa Bay Times: Tampa’s Westshore Marina District went from weedy lot to upscale waterfront

Barely five years ago, the 52-acre lot near the corner of Gandy and West Shore boulevards was bereft of all but the shuttered sales center for a doomed development. Today, it is a thriving community with high-end apartments, townhomes and a bayview condo tower well underway. In the cute town center, you can get your hair styled, buy a swimsuit and dine on tuna tartare and truffle fries.

The Westshore Marina District is one of three new planned communities that have sprung up in Tampa — the others are Midtown on Cypress Street just off Interstate 275 and the huge Water Street development south of downtown. While the pandemic initially was expected to drive people out of cities and into the suburbs, it has only accelerated the trend toward walkable live-work-play areas where the full range of urban amenities is close at hand.

Unlike Midtown and Water Street, the marina district does not have any office buildings, but it is only 10 minutes from the West Shore business district and is a short trip across the Gandy Bridge to Raymond James, Jabil and other major employers. And district residents working from home can do so in a setting that includes landscaped walkways, small lakes and soon a 1.5-mile waterfront park.

“It’s our local neighborhood with a gorgeous lifestyle,” says Rikki Radkay, who with sister Remy opened the first store in the district last spring.