The last two weeks of November were packed with amazing discussions about how we can design future places and activate existing spaces in the Innovation District.
We began with a workshop of 50+ private industry, academic, government and nonprofit partners who are working in Tampa Bay's Ocean Economy. They discussed our regional assets and identified several opportunities for innovation. We will be integrating these discussions into our work with startups in 2025, as well as the development of a Tampa Bay Ocean Economy strategy.
We also hosted a series of focus groups for our District Master Plan. These groups explored aspirational ideas for the activation of spaces, multimodal transportation, mixed use development, and the interconnection of the port, airport and arts areas. Participants shared their hopes for future resilient infrastructure, flood management, enhanced safety, and new support services such as a daycare and workforce housing. There will be additional focus groups including dedicated neighborhood sessions after the holidays.
Finally, we hosted our quarterly Morning Spark breakfast to explore Future Air Mobility - vertical electric flight with pilot and autonomous. The participants heard from experts, discussed the applicability for Albert Whitted Airport and other parts of the City, and created a list of questions that were provided as a suggested starting point to the upcoming City task force on the topic. Our next Morning Spark will be December 11th.
I am looking forward to using these ideas as a launchpad for 2025!
Alison Barlow
Executive Director
Join us for a Trolley Tour of the District on Friday, April 18th from 1:30pm-4:30pm. This popular event is offered 2-3 times a year. It begins at the Maritime and Defense Technology Hub. You will board a trolley with other Innovation District partners and community members. As we travel throughout the District, you will learn about the history and future plans for the area. We will make several stops for an insider view of the research and collaborations underway. The tour will conclude back at Hub with a networking happy hour.
The Innovation District hosts a quarterly breakfast series called Morning Sparks: Innovation X-change. At each session we explore emerging technologies, invite District partners to share their current related efforts, and engage in thoughtful (and hopefully spirited) discussions that will spark future innovation.
Each month our team confers about what to include in the District newsletter. We lament how to share all the amazing stories while not creating an encyclopedia (yes, I am showing by age with an old school reference). We are fortunate to have so many things going on in the District.