Pending approval from the Port of Tampa, Channelside Bay Plaza may find itself under the new ownership of a Bay area business partnership.
The partnership, composed of Santosh Govindaraju, Punit Shah, and their team at the newly formed Liberty Channelside, LLC., took time to answer questions and reveal details regarding their vision for new complex on Monday afternoon.
And, it's a big one. In addition to filling the mostly-empty complex with new, local businesses, the new ownership group plans to fill space above the complex with a new two-story hotel.
The new ownership also plans to build a pedestrian bridge connecting the garage across the street from Channelside to the new complex, add more windows to the exterior of the plaza, and foster an atmosphere geared for families during the day and couples at night.
During Wednesday's meeting, the conversation also extended to Twitter where both developers Punit Shah and Santosh Govindaraju answered questions from a real-time stream of questions with the hash tag #NewChannelside.
Among them were concerns about nightclubs, in which Shah replied that there will be no nightclubs or drunks. "That is absolutely not going to happen," he said.
A small concert venue may be possible for the new Channelside and, with or without it, the new owners say events, concerts, and possible street festivals will be a big draw for the new Channelside.
"We want to get more engaged with the street car," Shah also said, possibly meaning better integration with the TECO Line Streetcar System which extends from Ybor City, past Channelside, to Downtown Tampa.
The owners expect approval from the Port of Tampa by early June. Once that's complete construction could begin as early as end of 2013 beginning of 2014 with final project completion within 24 months of closing.
[Update] The Port of Tampa effectively rejected Liberty Channelside’s proposal to redevelop the dwindling plaza with an early morning Tuesday vote on May 21. We'll keep you updated as more news arises.
