TAMPA, Fla. — More than 200 trucks were scheduled to deliver 2,300 cubic yards of concrete to the Pendry Residences Tampa construction site Friday night through Saturday morning. Developers say it’s the largest concrete pour downtown has seen in years.
Downpours began at the scene along the River Walk just before 10 p.m. Friday. According to Two Roads Development, the building will be the foundation for Pendry’s 38-story tower, which will include 200 luxury condominiums and a 200-room hotel.
“That’s a huge plus,” Chris Blowers said.
Blowers owns Greiner’s Fine Men’s Clothing store on East Whiting Street, about two blocks from the construction site.
“Sports coats are attracting more attention than suits in this world, so most of the items these days are sports coats,” Blowers said, pointing to the store’s racks.
Fashion isn’t the only thing that has changed in the 43 years since Greiner’s opened. Blowers believes the Water Street development has brought new life to downtown.
“The right type of people came to downtown Tampa, restaurants were born, and that led to other things happening,” he said. “We’ve been the only kind of retail store downtown for years, so it’s nice to see other people come shopping.”
Blowers said he thinks Pendry will build on that. He said this is not the first time the developer has made big plans for the site.
“I had a number of clients who put down deposits on the Trump Building, which was going to become Trump Tower, and when it went under, the guy who bought that property from the developer was also a client of mine. He had big ideas for it. We had one, but we couldn’t get the funding, so the land was kind of haunted,” Blowers said.
“Tampa has really changed a lot in the last few years, so it’s really ready for a project like this,” said John Orebaugh of Two Roads Development, Pendry’s project director.
Orebaugh said the concrete pour will be a milestone for the project. This was done after workers excavated 230 piles, some up to 280 feet deep. Developers said Florida’s unique soils were considered in the process.
“This is a very challenging site,” Orebaugh said. “Again, we’ve put in a lot of effort to get to this point. Now we’re trying to put in place the first of several large foundation elements that will really start to tie the building together. I’m here.”
Construction is expected to take two years. Blowers said he is looking forward to seeing this latest change develop.
“I think Tampa is definitely a city on the rise,” he says. “There are a lot of great things happening here, and we want to be a part of it.”
Orebaugh said a number of measures have also been taken to ensure the building can withstand severe weather. The foundation level will be 15 feet above sea level and will include redundant generators and a flood protection system similar to that used at Tampa General Hospital.
