Beginning today (November 6, 2023) Hillsborough County is beginning advertising for an RFP for development of 67 acres surrounding MOSI (Museum of Science and Industry) in Tampa’s Uptown Innovation District. The County has previously requested development proposals for all 74 acres including the museum, but now the museum is going to stay put on the 7+ acres they lease.

A news release from the county stated, “As part of the Uptown Innovation District, proposers are asked to submit innovative and inclusive development plans with a mix of uses including hospitality, entertainment, retail and public spaces that embrace transit and sustainable mobility."

The museum is located at 4801 E. Fowler Ave., Tampa FL 33617. E. Fowler Avenue is a major arterial roadway, and the 67 acres allocated for redevelopment have high visibility. The property is adjacent to USF and connects with a pedestrian bridge going over E. Fowler Avenue. The average annual daily traffic count on E. Fowler Avenue by MOSI and USF is 65,500.

MOSI has been a closely watched piece of real estate over the last decade. The museum is a prime infill property and is in close proximity to several economic drivers of the community including Moffit Cancer Center, M2Gen, USF School of Medicine, James A. Haley VA Medical Center, Advent Health, the USF Research Park, and 50,000 USF students.

It is requested that proposals maximize the site’s proximity to the economic drivers surrounding the property, and incorporate bioscience, cybersecurity, and other advanced industries. Hillsborough County is currently ranked 10^th in the U.S. for population growth, and leads the state in STEM jobs, and was ranked the 2^nd best community for young entrepreneurs by Forbes/NerdWallet.

The Uptown district has a slow moving transformation underway, with Fowler Avenue epitomizing suburban sprawl. Fowler is as wide as eight lanes in some stretches, lined with surface parking lots for strip centers, restaurants, and drive-thru pharmacies. Developers and business leaders for Uptown envision the day Fowler Avenue is lined with mixed-use high rises with apartments and medical space above street level retail options and parking decks.

Fowler Avenue has been a puzzle for real estate and transportation experts. A more pleasant experience for pedestrians, cyclists, and motorists would be to downsize the road, but economic drivers in the area such as USF, Moffitt Cancer Center, and Yuengling Brewing Co. rely on Fowler Avenue to handle tens of thousands of cars. FDOT controls Fowler and is currently working on a multi-phase plan to reimagine Fowler Avenue.

The most recent study completed in September by FDOT determined that one lane each way on Fowler would be transformed into a transit-dedicated corridor with an estimated price tag of $25 million. HART (Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority) plans to use the lane which will run from Nebraska Ave. & Bruce B. Downs as part of a larger rapid transit service running from Downtown to USF.

The USF area (such as Fowler Ave.), despite having a high AADT of over 65,000 vehicles, has a disproportionate amount of population with zero cars in Hillsborough County. USF also plans to open an on-campus stadium by 2026 which will only welcome more traffic into the area, so having transit options for the public will be a necessity for local residents in the Uptown district. It is clear that while transformation here is underway, the Uptown district has a long road of development and revitalization ahead of it.