This tour will ride the SunRunner, Pinellas County’s bus rapid transit system, and hear about its early success, and get a one-of-a-kind exPIERience at the St. Pete Pier, 2022 ULI Global Awards for Excellence winner. Participants will also take a walking tour with a local historian and hear about the development and revitalization of downtown St. Petersburg.

Hop on the streetcar (just steps away from the JW Marriott) for a walking tour of Ybor City. The pride of this diverse community and the preservation of its historical assets and neighborhoods are hallmarks of Ybor’s revitalization. The innovative Gasworx district, among others, will help this singular city draw Tampa Bay businesses, residents, and visitors to engage with Latin history, great food, the arts, and yes, even roosters and ghosts.

Enjoy Tampa’s unique swashbuckling heritage on the Captain Jack Pirate Taxi and explore the rebirth of the city’s waterfront. From the arts district and Armature Works to the Riverwalk and new multifamily projects in Tampa Heights, this narrated tour will reveal the river’s arr-mazing transformation.

Conceived as a neighborhood rather than a district, Water Street, 2023 ULI Americas Awards for Excellence winner, has transformed the skyline and the lifestyle of downtown Tampa. Michelin-starred restaurants, five-star hotels, wellness-oriented residences in a variety of price points, office and co-work spaces, and unique waterfront dining and activities for all in Sparkman Wharf create a people-centered experience for those who live, work, and visit here. As a recent article in Travel+Leisure noted, “Water Street Tampa has completely reimagined what was once just a business district that turned dead after dark into one of Florida’s most exciting downtowns.” See it all on this walking tour.

In 2013, WS Development set out to revitalize Hyde Park Village with a goal to create an urban retail district with a strong sense of place — the antithesis to big-box mall shopping centers. By all accounts they succeeded - Hyde Park Village is a lifestyle center unlike any other in the region. Blending modern architecture, European-inspired detail, and high-end outdoor shopping in Tampa’s most historic district, Hyde Park Village is home to a unique combination of retail shops and restaurants spanning over 270,000 square feet. At Hyde Park Village, destination brands sit next to stand-out locals, such as rag & bone, Pottery Barn, Lululemon, Anthropologie, bartaco, Zimmermann, Warby Parker, Buddy Brew Coffee, Meat Market, Hyde House Public Studio, and Nike, offering regular programming such as farmers’ markets, holiday themed pop-ups, and unique collaborations amongst their tenants’ schedules

With a focus on wellness in its upscale residences, offices, acclaimed local chef-helmed restaurants, and retail options that can’t be found anywhere else in surrounding counties, Midtown has been called Tampa’s “first-of-its-kind, billion-dollar, self-contained community.” New building Midtown East, with retail, and restaurants, and offices, including the new headquarters for TECO Peoples Gas, will enhance the “live, work, play, stay” nature of Midtown’s 23-acre community. Participants on this walking tour will get an exclusive hard hat tour of Midtown East within weeks of the project topping out.

The Women’s Leadership Initiative (WLI) from around Florida is gathering for a dinner on the evening of April 4, 2024 after the Opening Reception. Registrants should meet at the ReliaQuest Auditorium at Embarc Collective, which is a 15-minute walk from JW Marriott Water Street Tampa, or a short ride on the TECO Historic Street Car to Downtown Tampa Station with a seven-minute walk. Embarc Collective offers best-in-class collaboration spaces not only to support startup teams but also to foster community events and conversations about technology, entrepreneurship, and innovation. This award-winning 32,000-square-foot startup hub in downtown Tampa, Florida has supported and hosted many ULI Tampa Bay meetings and makes this the ideal venue for the 2024 ULI Florida Summit WLI Dinner. This dinner will be from 6:30 PM – 8:00 PM and will feature a seated dinner, drinks, networking opportunities, and remarks from Embarc Collective’s women leader and WLI chairs.