The Brand Tampa Show #7 - Checking Things out in the Channel District

I’m thrilled to announce The Place at Channelside is partnering with me to get the word out about local awesomeness by sponsoring a series for The Brand Tampa Show about life in the Channel District.

I have long been passionate about the revitalization of downtown Tampa. I'm a huge fan of urban living - heavily influenced by my past lives in New York, London & New Orleans. Back in 2004 I found myself wanting to start a new career in Tampa, but had no idea what a former Design and Decorative Arts Historian could do to earn a living in our fair city. At a fateful meeting, it was suggested I get my real estate license and specialize in the emerging downtown market. It was a great idea, so I called on a bunch of developers to learn about their projects, fell in love with the plans for The Place at Channelside, and took a job selling condos there.

I can’t tell you how many people told me, “this sounds great and all, but I don’t know who is really going to live here.” My response was, “Come on! Living in an urban neighborhood where you can actually walk to stuff? Who doesn’t want that?” But it was hard for people to imagine what it would be like when the buildings were just plans on paper.

My frustration built until I couldn’t take it anymore. The traditional media everyone relied on for news wasn’t telling the story about what was happening downtown. But I was there witnessing the transformation when one fateful day I realized that my camera had a “record” button. So I enlisted friends to help me shoot a series of behind-the-scenes videos of condos under construction (you can catch those on my old YouTube channel). One thing led to another and that was the beginning of where Brand Tampa came from (I’ll save the whole story for another blog post).

Lots has changed since then. Now there are more than 2000 residents living downtown and a lot more stories to tell. For this episode of The Brand Tampa Show, I went back to my old stomping grounds at The Place and interviewed folks living there to get the inside scoop about their favorite things to do and places to hang out in and around the neighborhood.

Thanks again to The Place at Channelside for sponsoring The Brand Tampa Show, and to Amanda, David, Leslie and Blake for sharing their recommendations on what to do, where to eat and where to find the best pizza downtown (Eddie & Sams).

If your curiosity is piqued about living downtown, visit The Place at Channelside and tell them you heard about them on Brand Tampa! Their leasing office is open daily at 912 Channelside Drive.
Mon - Fri: 10:00 am - 7:00 pm
Sat: 10:00 am - 5:00 pm
Sun: 12:00 pm - 4:00 pm
813.209.9500
leasing@theplacechannelside.com