Strategic Property Partners hires Colliers International for Water Street retail leasing

Strategic Property Partners (SPP), the developer behind the Water Street Tampa neighborhood, has retained commercial real estate brokerage firm Colliers International Tampa Bay to handle retail leasing at the $3 billion project.

In all, Colliers International agents Melissa Riccardi and Lisa McCaffrey will oversee leasing of roughly one million square feet of space in SPP’s Sparkman Wharf complex and roughly a dozen other buildings — including planned office blocks at 1001 Water St. and 400 Channelside Dr.

In all, the 56-acre project is slated to contain more than nine million square feet of residential, office, hospitality, institutional and retail space when completed in the next decade. SPP’s Susan Martin, its vice president of retail, says in a statement that the retail space “is central to our vision” and will be critical to creating “a sense of vibrancy” within the neighborhood.

Riccardi says the duo hopes to attract merchants that collectively could create a design district in Tampa housing furniture, lighting, design and other furnishings retailers.

McCaffrey, meanwhile, says Colliers International is hoping to “achieve a nice tenant mix with a blend of national and local retailers and restaurants.”

The pair declined to provide a range of rental rents at Water Street Tampa, citing the plethora of sizes, uses and different spaces that will be available, but noted rents will be “top of the market but competitive” in similar fashion to the pending office rates in 1001 Water St. and 400 Channelside Dr.

To date, the only retail tenant announced for the project is a 26,000-square-foot GreenWise market from Publix Super Markets Inc. The grocery will occupy the ground floor of a planned twin-towered residential offering at 815 Water St. and open in 2021.

Colliers International becomes the latest in a series of local brokerage firms SPP has hired at Water Street, a group that includes JLL and Franklin Street.