ConDoS , CigaRS anD EvERytHing in-bEtwEEn
Bar leadership Institute Chairs : AshleyGallagher – JohnsonJackson , KendraLyman – HillWardHenderson & JouniceNealy-Brown – Gunster
the bLi class toured two local businesses , which provided the class with a broad look at tampa ’ s bright future , as well as the city ’ s rich history .
In January and February , the Bar Leadership Institute ( BLI ) class toured the offices of Strategic Property Partners , LLC ( SPP ) in the Water Street District and the J . C . Newman Cigar Company ( JCN ), the last remaining productive cigar factory in Tampa . Together , these local businesses provided the class with a broad look at Tampa ’ s bright future , as well as the city ’ s rich history .
The BLI class visited the SPP offices on January 25 . SPP had initially planned an outside tour of the Water Street properties under development , but on the day of the SPP visit , the weather was not cooperative . Instead , BLI members
were given the opportunity to spend time in SPP ’ s indoor space dedicated to explaining and pitching to investors the work SPP is doing around Amalie Arena .
Donald Bly , SPP ’ s general counsel , and Mary-Kate Michalak , SPP ’ s corporate leasing and strategy manager , began the module by giving a brief history of the project and how the owner of the Tampa Bay Lightning , Jeffrey Vinik , made an intentional choice to develop and improve the community surrounding where the team plays . Bly and Michalak explained that , beginning with the purchase of a dirt parking lot in 2010 , the SPP team began creating a zoning ,
permitting , and regulatory scheme with the City to serve as a foundation for their vision of downtown Tampa and the Water Street district .
The class was then ushered into a dark room , where a 3D model of downtown Tampa , fitting a roughly 30-foot circle , filled most of the room . At the push of a button , the model came to life as 12 video projectors created the texture of each building , the lines of each road , and the waterways of the Hillsborough River , even down to the traffic patterns . Bly and Michalak explained that SPP
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