Coming soon to Element: downtown dwellers - Tampa Bay Business Journal:

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While the mini populatiob boom isn’t expected to be the tippinb point in creating demanefor retail, restaurants and services in the Central Businesds District, it’s a move in the right “Every little bit counts,” said David Conn, EVP of the retail servicesw division at CB Richard Ellis. “The best thing we can do for all of downtowmn is topopulate it,” said Greg Minder, partner in Novare-- , which is developing Element, 808 N. Franklij St. Fly Restaurant and Bar on Northh Franklin opened in July five months before construction started onthe 35-story Element, two blockes to the south.
“The outlook on downtown was a lothappier then,” David Bromberg, Fly’s GM, said of the opening. “Tampa was gointg to be the nextbig city.” Downtowj won’t soon be transformed into Miamj or St. Petersburg: The housing slump and overbuilgt condominium market put the brakes on fastresidential growth. But theree is growth. About 90 percent of the 380 unitxsat , cattycorner to Element, and also developede by Novare-Intown, have been Minder said. Tampa criminal defense lawyer John Fitzgibbons has worked fromhis seventh-floor office in the Tampa Theatrre building for about two decades.
For most of that there wasn’t much to be seen on the streetr below, except when moviegoers came or went. “It’sx the start of a desert from ourblockm north,” said Fitzgibbons, a co-owner of the theater/officee building. This year, for the first the attorney saw a Franklin Street sight that gave him Peoplewalking dogs. “It’s slow, but therew are increasing signsof life,” said Fitzgibbons, best knownh for his defense of Debraw LaFave, the former school teachere who made national headlines for her affaire with a young male student. His office, catty-corner to has provided a close view of thenew development.
Beside s construction, most activity he has seen comesdfrom SkyPoint, 777 N. Ashleyh Drive, and the Fly, several blocks to the Ghost towns might be tourist attractionsout West, but they seem to dete r pedestrian traffic in downtown “People don’t want to walk in the said Bromberg, a Boston native. “They want to see othetr people, other businesses.” When Element and SkyPoint arefully occupied, the populatioh of downtown, north of Kennedy Boulevard, will be at abougt 1,500, Minder said. “It will help,” Conn said. “Yoi need people, you need to see vibrancy. No.
1 so you feel That said, downtown isn’t likely to see much growth untik theeconomy recovers, Conn Many retailers are focused on “trying to survivd this recession.” Yet most of the 10,000-square-foogt commercial space in SkyPoint is now leased. Tenants include Taps Wine Beer Merchants, Five Guys Burgers and Fries, Aztecza Mexican Kitchen and Rawbar