250-foot observation wheel<\/a> planned near the Florida Aquarium.<\/p>\nThe Southwest Florida Water Management District approved the project\u2019s environmental resource permit this week, allowing the privately funded $20 million development to move forward.<\/p>\n
The wheel is planned for a one-third-acre site along Channelside Drive, positioned between Water Street, the Channel District, Ybor City and the massive GasWorx redevelopment area.<\/p>\n
Supporters say that location is part of the appeal.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt would be like a boardwalk kind of vibe going from that,\u201d visitor Bayley Henry said. \u201cSo, I think it would be nice.\u201d<\/p>\n
Developers envision the wheel as more than just a tourist attraction \u2014 describing it as a centerpiece connecting some of Tampa\u2019s fastest-growing neighborhoods while giving visitors another reason to return downtown.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it’s a great idea,\u201d visitor Elizabeth Amato said. \u201cI think it brings more tourists to the area. I think it’s perfect.\u201d<\/p>\n
Visit Tampa Bay President and CEO Santiago Corrada said attractions like the wheel help Tampa remain competitive for conventions, sporting events and tourism.<\/p>\n
\u201cSomething new,\u201d Corrada said. \u201cThey’re going to ask you \u2014 if I come back, have there been changes at the convention center? Are there any new restaurants? What new attractions are there?\u201d<\/p>\n
Corrada said visitors increasingly expect cities to offer new experiences.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople don’t have to come to Tampa. Conventions don’t have to come to Tampa,\u201d he said. \u201cWe want to make sure that we keep our competitive advantage.\u201d<\/p>\n
But while supporters see opportunity, others worry about what the project could mean for parking in an area already strained by cruise traffic, downtown events and aquarium visitors.<\/p>\n
The wheel\u2019s footprint is expected to take over several existing waterfront parking spaces once construction begins.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s tough,\u201d visitor Elbe Ramirez said. \u201cThere’s not a whole lot of parking available for all the venues that are here.\u201d<\/p>\n
Visitor Brittany Peralta said she understands the attraction\u2019s appeal but worries about the impact on residents.<\/p>\n
\u201cI get it, because of the port and what not. It could attract people and what not,\u201d Peralta said. \u201cBut for people who actually live here?\u201d<\/p>\n
Developers say construction will begin with foundation work later this summer, followed by assembly of the wheel itself.<\/p>\n
If construction remains on schedule, Tampa WOW! is expected to open by the end of the year.<\/p>\n
Each ride is expected to last roughly 20 to 30 minutes inside climate-controlled gondolas overlooking downtown Tampa, the port and Tampa Bay waterways.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Leaders say the attraction could boost tourism and conventions, but some Tampa residents worry about losing parking spaces.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":269978,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[135,137,136],"class_list":["post-269977","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tampa","tag-tampa","tag-tampa-headlines","tag-tampa-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/269977","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=269977"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/269977\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/269978"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=269977"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=269977"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=269977"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}