As workers are putting the finishing touches on the buildings at Sparkman Wharf, the developer, Strategic Property Partners (SPP) is gearing up for a grand opening celebration on Friday.
The project, which replaces Channelside Bay Plaza, is an eating and entertainment establishment geared to service those who live and work downtown as well as visitors and tourists.
SPP CEO James Nozar says, for those who live in downtown, this is long overdue.
“They’re very, very food starved. And I know that myself from living in the neighborhood,” said Nozar.
“So, we believe this will add an excellent anchor not only to our office tenants here, but to the neighborhood and soon USF College of Medicine which will have almost 2000 students.”
When Channelside Bay Plaza was built nearly 20 years ago, the thought was it would attract people to the Channel District. That never worked as well as its developers had hoped.
Sparkman Wharf features a number of restaurants with outside eating areas. With names such as Edison’s Thingamajig and Whatever Pops, they are not your typical eateries.
Edison’s Executive Chef Jeannie Pierola says those who dine here can expect a special experience.
“I’ve never seen anything like it in Tampa, and that’s what was so thrilling,” said Pierola.
“When they painted the picture for us, we were kind of over the moon. Putting this together is like a foodie chef’s dream come true.”
Hooters and Splitsville are still a part of Sparkman Wharf, but Splitsville has been remodeled and re-imagined.
Sam Stein is a manager with SPP.
“They’ve really been here from the beginning, so they wanted to stick with it. They know the potential that this space has,” said Stein.
“They’ve updated the interior, added additional games beyond bowling. They have darts, bocci ball, ping pong, and something called feather bowling which I encourage you to try.”
John McGlocktin is also excited about the project.
His business, Whatever Pops, specializes in Açaí Bowls and handcrafted ice pops.
He also lives downtown and sees the need for more dining choices.
“We started with a cart, just did markets, we were waiting on the best opportunity and when we saw this, it was like, ‘we’ve gotta do this,'” said McGlocktin. “This was one of those things where it was like once in a lifetime. “
For more information on this weekend’s grand opening festivities, click here.
