While watching your show about developing downtown, I thought I would share with Christine Burdick certain concerns and ideas that I have about downtown.  I work there now and have most of my adult life since 1972.   I went to the Tampa Downtown Partnership website so that I could share my ideas.  Lo and behold, the website does not have any option to contact them by email.  No request for the ideas of community residents.  The website appears to just be promotional of downtown, but then claims to be working on initiatives.  Now I hear Ms. Burdick state that they are seeking input from the "business community."  Maybe there would be a market if there was some interest in what the little people think.

I wills share my suggestions with you.  I park in Fort Brooke south of lsldsdlsfl and work in the Fifth Third building at the corner of Tampa and Kennedy. This requires me to use the elevator.  These elevators are dirty and, more importantly, one or two frequently are out of service.  This can start the day of so many downtown workers with frustration.
You can exit either on the third floor, where you walk through the third floor garage to the Tampa City Center and an escalator or stairwell to the ground.  It's not particularly pleasant, but feels safe and fast. Or you can exit on the first floor and walk through the William F. Poe Park.  Virtually NO ONE does this!  I walk it most of the time.  There are so few people that usually the maintenance workers outnumber the pedestrians.  The park does not welcome pedestrians.  Is the downtown partnership even thinking about why this is?
I know a couple of reasons. One is that the elevator bank on the first floor empties to a vacuous space that seems like an after thought and does not feel particularly state. It presents two ways to walk out to the streets.  One of them goes to an area that is gated from the park and has dumpsters in it.  If you make a mistake and go up the stairs instead of the ramp, you reach a dead end.  If you make the right choice and take the ramp up to the park, you enter a space where you better watch where you are going because there are obstructions and no obvious walkways. The fountain, when it's not under maintenance because of pranksters' vandalism, smells of chlorine.
Then you cross the street into a maze of sidewalks that absolutely make no sense at all.  There isn't a path you can safely walk without watching your feet.  There's no obvious walk way because they each disappear.
Basically, like so many other things that the city of Tampa comes up with (apparently without consultation with the little guys of the city), this area is extremely uninviting and uninspiring.  The only things that stand out in the "park" are the historical plaques. They are at a height that may not encourage people reading them, especially because you have to watch your feet to be sure you don't walk into obstructions or elevation changes.
Sorry for the length of my comment, but the city downtown partnership should be receiving the comments of residents who use the city.  Are we or are we not partners in this partnership?
Thanks Brendan.  Good job.

Unfortunately the video showed most of the story of empty storefronts.  If Brendan had videoed along the new condos in the Channelside area, the picture would have been pretty much the same, empty storefronts with "for rent" signs.

I was a long time believer in downtown St. Pete and lived in their downtown for over 8 years. Everyone scoffed at me.  No grocery store, few restaurants, little to do.  Look at it today.

Downtown Tampa will be awesome one day, but it will be good ideas combined with the market of supply and demand that makes it happen, not some "happy kool aid" dispensing group that fails to address the real issues affecting the downtown.  

As indicated in the prior post, the Downtown Partnership website does not offer much opportunity to provide input and comments.  What a shame, that is one of the things that the internet provides best, just as ActionNews has done here.  
Some suggest it is because they have their own agenda and don't want your input.  I think the jury is still out.

Hey Laura,

I think you bring up some great points, one of which I wanted to discuss Sunday, but we ran out of time.

Outside of those few big destination places, downtown is simply uninviting, especially to pedestrians.  Some directional signs are in place, but aimed at vehicles.  Nothing says "Welcome to Downtown," and folks getting out of their cars are left to figure it out.