ONE Tampa topped out downtown, Clearwater is eyeing a $180M sports complex where a golf course used to be, and WestShore Plaza's days are officially numbered. The Rays are on a 7-game tear while Tampa City Council debates whether to hand them nearly a billion dollars. 8 stories. Let's get into it. Check out our experience we had at the topping out party for One Tampa below.

🏗️ ONE Tampa Tops Out

What happened: Downtown's ONE Tampa condo tower has topped out at 42 stories, making it the tallest residential building in the city.

The details: The tower locks in 225 units, with roughly 70% already sold. Construction wraps in about a year, with first move-ins targeted for fall 2027.

Why it matters: It's a hard marker of how much appetite there still is for downtown high-rise living, even with rates where they are.

My take: We shot this one from the ground up. Watching it go vertical over the last year, you could feel downtown's ceiling get pushed higher, literally. The next 12 months are about façade and interior build-out, and we'll be tracking it. Oh ya, you have 601 N Ashley clearing dirt right next door, and that one is planned to be even taller.

⚡ Power Design Joins the $8.1B Trop Redevelopment

What happened: St. Petersburg-based Power Design has joined the "Burg Bid" team pursuing the Historic Gas Plant District redevelopment.

The details: Power Design is a major electrical contractor and is pledging a workforce-training pipeline through its Build the Nation initiative, aimed at skilled trades and construction careers tied to the project.

Why it matters: An $8.1 billion redevelopment needs more than architects and renderings. It needs a trained labor force, and this is the first real signal of how that gets built.

My take: Everyone's watching the Trop site for the stadium headline. The real story is the jobs pipeline underneath it. If Power Design's training program delivers, this becomes a career on-ramp for South St. Pete, not just a construction site.

⛳ Clearwater Eyes $180M Sports Complex on Old Golf Course

What happened: Clearwater City Council is advancing plans to turn the 77-acre Landings Golf Course into a sports and entertainment complex.

The details: The nearly $180 million proposal includes 13 multipurpose fields, 24 covered pickleball courts, sand volleyball, pools, and water slides. It's now in a 30-day window for competing bids.

Why it matters: Estimated at $566 million in economic impact over 10 years and 600+ jobs, this would turn a quiet municipal course into a regional youth sports and tourism draw.

My take: Tampa Bay's youth sports tourism economy has been growing quietly for years. This is Clearwater deciding to compete for it directly instead of watching Wesley Chapel and Lakewood Ranch eat the market.

Presented by Real Tampa Bay Media — Your brand. Their audience. Real Tampa Bay Media helps real estate developers, agents, and businesses reach Tampa Bay's most engaged local audience through content, newsletters, and social media that people actually read. Partner with us → realtampabay.com Check out our free content bank here https://www.realtampabay.com/content-bank and learn more how it can help you and your business below

🛍️ WestShore Plaza's Last Days Are Here

What happened: Third Lake Partners will demolish WestShore Plaza after closing on the mall for about $135 million.

The details: The plan replaces the aging mall with a mixed-use district: shops, restaurants, office, apartments, medical space, and transit facilities. No demolition permit has been filed yet, but the city's 2024 rezoning already cleared the path.

Why it matters: WestShore has been fading for years. This makes the end official and turns the site into one of the largest redevelopment opportunities in the corridor.

My take: We've shot around this mall for years watching it empty out store by store. This is the "beginning of the end" moment. Get your before shots now, because once permits drop, this moves fast.

🏘️ Brandon Locks In Affordable Housing Through 2036

What happened: All 348 apartments at Woodberry Woods in Brandon will stay income- and rent-restricted through the end of 2036.

The details: The new agreement extends affordability controls another 10 years past their original 2026 expiration. Every unit must be leased or made available to qualifying low-income households.

Why it matters: It's one of the more significant workforce-housing preservation moves in the region this year, at a time when affordability restrictions are expiring faster than they're being renewed.

My take: This is the kind of story that doesn't get the headlines a $180M sports complex does, but it matters just as much. 348 units staying affordable for another decade is real, durable impact.

🏨 Epicurean Hotel Sells After Major Expansion

What happened: Hyde Park's Epicurean Hotel has been sold to KHP Capital Partners.

The details: The sale follows a 51-room expansion that brought the property to 188 rooms. Mainsail Lodging & Development will keep operating it.

Why it matters: Fresh capital plus a bigger footprint on South Howard signals continued confidence in Tampa's boutique hospitality market.

My take: South Howard keeps proving it can support upscale, independent hospitality, not just chains. This sale is investors betting that trend holds.

🚚 Ashley Furniture Expands Brandon Warehouse Footprint

What happened: Ashley Furniture is pursuing a major expansion of its warehouse operations in Brandon.

The details: The expansion deepens the furniture giant's logistics footprint in eastern Hillsborough County, along the I-75/I-4 corridor.

Why it matters: More industrial square footage means more trucks, more logistics jobs, and more evidence that the I-75/I-4 corridor is becoming a legitimate distribution hub for the Southeast.

My take: Everyone talks about downtown towers and Water Street. The quieter story is how much blue-collar job growth is happening in the warehouses east of town.

⚾ Rays Ride a Win Streak While Tampa Debates a Billion-Dollar Ballpark

What happened: The Rays have won seven straight, and Tampa City Council is debating whether to take an August vote on a $976 million public-funding package for a new ballpark.

The details: Taylor Walls delivered a go-ahead two-run single in an eight-run eighth inning, Junior Caminero keeps mashing, and closer Manuel "Baker" set a franchise record with his 23rd straight save. Off the field, councilmembers are openly skeptical about both the timing and structure of the proposed HCC Ybor site deal. Reliever Jax landed on the IL with elbow discomfort, with Michael Grove called up.

Why it matters: The team has never looked better on the field, and the stadium question has never looked murkier off it. Nearly a billion dollars in public money is not a small ask.

My take: Winning teams make stadium deals easier to sell, not harder to resist. But council's hesitation is real, and it's happening while St. Pete's Gas Plant proposals are still very much alive. This is going to be one of the defining real estate storylines of the year, whichever side of the bay it lands on.

🎉 THIS WEEKEND: Aug 13–16

Cousin Vinny's x The Liberty Smokehouse — One-day collab between the Michelin-recognized sandwich shop on Cass St. and Tampa's Flavortown-approved BBQ spot. Must-eat.

Monster Jam — Benchmark International Arena, Fri 7pm, Sat 1pm & 7pm, Sun 1pm. Family-friendly chaos in the Channelside arena district.

Motley Crue & Tesla — MidFlorida Credit Union Amphitheatre, Sat 6:30pm. Stadium rock at the fairgrounds.

Candlelight: Queen vs. ABBA — Centro Asturiano de Tampa, Sat 8:30pm. Seated, historic-venue date night.

Comedy in Ybor — Majah Hype at Funny Bone (Thu 7pm), Sam Tallent at Side Splitters (Thu-Fri), Michael Yo at Funny Bone (Fri-Sat).

Late-Night Dance Floors — The Dark Eighties Dance Party (Orpheum, Fri 9pm), Gimme Gimme Disco (Orpheum, Sat 8pm), Wax Motif (The Ritz Ybor, Sat 10pm).

That's the week: a tower topping out, a mall on its way down, and two competing billion-dollar visions for Tampa Bay's next stadium. The momentum isn't slowing down, and neither are we.

See you next week. — Real Tampa Bay

Enjoying the newsletter? Forward it to someone who should be paying attention to Tampa Bay.

Follow us on Instagram → @realtampabay.dev