Ybor and Channelside

[MikePhillips]

When I got to Tampa in 1996, I loved what Ybor was

 

I bounced down in Ybor in the late 1990's, Luna, Empire, Harpos, Irish Pub, etc

 

What happened in the early 2000's was simple - politicians got paid, to stop pushing Ybor, and to start pushing Channelside by the big businesses that were moving in.

 

They stopped closing the streets in Ybor, and tried to force the party over to Channelside. Channelside sucked, it was trying to get drunk at the mall. Generic, boring, and it just simply lacked the soul that Ybor had.

 

Ybor in the mid to late 1990's was a party mecca. I used to meet people from all over the southeast USA who would come down to party there. It was an amazing place. You had everything down there, trance, house, industrial, goth, blues, jazz, just a massive party from one to the other.

 

And they killed it, trying to force everyone over to Channelside.

 

As of right now, it's a great place to eat and go during the day, but the nighttime vibe is a bit off. The movie theatre in Centro is one of the nicest in Tampa, and it's a great place to go when other theatres are packed and crowded. I drive from Riverview with my family all the time to go to the Centro Ybor movie theatre, I happily drive right past Brandon Regency because of the hood rats at Brandon.

 

In Ybor, you have tons of places to ear. Berninis is still amazing, Green Iguana is awesome considering it's "bar food", they make great food. Creperia is delicious, La Terraza is good, and of course El Puetro is one of the best places you'd ever get a skirt steak.

 

Daytime it's great, as the night starts approaching, time to dodge out and go somewhere else. It does not have the "late night" draw it used to. I wish it did, I miss Luna's, Bar Tampa, Empire, Ampitheatre, ahh the good ole days

[GaUSFBull]

Good post, Mike.  Used to go with friends down to Empire all the time in the late 90's.  Great club scene existed down there then.  I had my first beer at Pleasuredome when I was 18 - can't fully remember how I did it but it was something I'll never forget.  

 

What's the name of the sushi place that is in Ybor?  I feel it was called the Blue something ... remember it being awesome though.  

 

Got my 3rd and final tattoo at a parlor down there.  

 

Great times were had there, sad it isn't the case anymore, at least for the most part at night ... 

[MikePhillips]

I think it was called Blue Samarai

 

It was next door to an AMAZING bar that closed down in the mid-2000's, Big City Tavern on the second floor

 

You probably got tattoo'd at the Blue Devil, it was next door to the Irish Pub (not the James Joice)

 

I probably sound like those hippies with woodstock, but Ybor was an amazing party place, people used to call it the "mini-mardi-gras"

 

We could make a thread on 1990's Ybor memories LOL 

[GaUSFBull]

Oh yeah we could.  Blue Samurai and Blue Devil, pretty sure you nailed both of them for me ... 'preciate it!  

[Bear]

Channelside should be evolving as the economy begins to pick up. The Channelside district has just been sold to the Tampa Port Authority for a very reasonable sum. 

[cmhatter]

Channelside should be evolving as the economy begins to pick up. The Channelside district has just been sold to the Tampa Port Authority for a very reasonable sum. 

 

so is vinik not involved then?

[ctbrown24]

It's crazy how much rents are in Channelside. I inquired at a few places and 1/1's (other than Bell Channelside) are all around $1,500. 

[Bullshutter]

 

Channelside should be evolving as the economy begins to pick up. The Channelside district has just been sold to the Tampa Port Authority for a very reasonable sum. 

 

so is vinik not involved then?

 

It is believed that the Tampa Port Authority bought the Channelside complex (the building, they already own the land) so they can in turn sell it to Vinik's group.  Prior to TPA acquiring the building, the bank who owned it was leaning towards selling to the Liberty Group.  TPA objected to the Liberty Group and created many hurdles to avoid them being the winning team for the complex.  Now TPA owns the building and land outright and are free to negotiate with Vinik

 

http://www.tampabay.com/news/business/realestate/liberty-channelside-partners-say-port-of-tampa-sabotaged-their-deal/2123678

 

http://www.tampabay.com/news/business/remember-the-channelside-bay-plaza-sale-still-pending-still-delayed/2155196

[Bullshutter]

an update to my post above... interesting article:

 

http://tbo.com/news/business/developers-sue-port-over-rejection-of-channelside-bid-20131219/

[WoolyBully]

 

but it never came to final financial terms with the port. The port had requested that the group fully commit several million dollars in cash before it would allow a transfer of the lease and some of its control over the site, which is adjacent to the main loading and unloading site for millions of cruise ship passengers each year.

 

Is that uncommon? Would you not want to see that your potential buyer actually has the folding green to do what they say...so you're not back at this same point a few years down the road? I guess I just don't see the down side - or unconstitutionality - to the TPA having more resources to operate with.