Community Meeting Tonight To Discuss Downtown Redevelopment Project

A community meeting to unveil the proposed design plans for Tempo, a 203-unit apartment building that's part of a 13-block downtown Tampa redevelopment project, will take place Monday, July 29 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. in the community room of Ella at Encore, 1210 E. Ray Charles Blvd., Tampa. 

The 265,723-square-foot apartment building will contain one- to four-bedroom floor plans designed for residents of all ages.

It also will have a 5,000-square-foot clubhouse, multi-level parking garage, secured access, a 3,000-square-foot designated theater space and 2,321 square feet of first-floor commercial space.

Construction will begin the first quarter of 2014. 

The apartment building is part of the 40-acre Encore project located just north of downtown where Cass Street meets Nebraska Avenue. It is a master-planned, urban mixed-use redevelopment venture between the Banc of America Community Development Corp. and the Tampa Housing Authority. 

The $425 million project will be under construction for the next seven to nine years. Once complete, more than 2,500 people will call Encore home.

In addition to Tempo, three other Encore buildings are already in various stages of development and leasing:

Ella is already home to 160 active, senior residents and is nearly 100 percent occupied.

Trio is designed for families with children, singles, couples and friends. These 141 apartment homes are on schedule and nearly 50 percent complete. It features one-, two-, three- and four-bedroom apartments.

Reed is expected to get under construction in mid-August. It will be home to active, senior residents in 158 one- and two-bedroom apartment homes.

Presenters at tonight's meeting will include representatives from Encore’s joint-venture developers Banc of America Community Development Corp. and Tampa Housing Authority along with project architect Kevin Bessolo, AIA the Bessolo Design Group.