Using Civil Engineering and Landscape Design to Transform Sparkman Wharf

Offering a host of amenities that serve Tampa residents during both day and night, Sparkman Wharf is named after Stephen Sparkman—Tampa Bay’s first Congressman—who secured funding to dredge a channel for Tampa’s port and made a memorable impact on city development. Since opening in 2019, this marquee destination has revitalized the downtown Tampa waterfront near Benchmark International Arena (formerly known as Amalie Arena) and served as an initial catalyst for the surrounding Water Street Mixed-Use District.

Kimley-Horn provided civil engineering and landscape design services for the redevelopment of Channelside Bay Plaza into a locally inspired destination on the downtown Tampa waterfront.

Project Recognition

• 2019 The Planning Commission’s (Hillsborough County) Planning and Design Awards – Chairman’s Award
• 2019 Tampa Downtown Partnership Urban Excellence Awards – Landmark Development Award
• 2019 Creative Loafing Tampa Bay’s Best of the Bay Awards – Best Top Chef’s Playground

Bringing Local Character and History to the Tampa Waterfront

Our team performed civil engineering and landscape design for this redevelopment, transforming the 260,000-square-foot site into a dynamic mixed-use development featuring loft-style spaces, a one-acre recreation lawn, and more than 70,000 square-feet of ground floor restaurants, retail, and entertainment space. The vibrant dining garden, Biergarten, and recreational lawn overlooking the waterfront attract downtown visitors and residents, especially for Tampa Bay Lightning watch parties, fireworks displays, lawn movie nights, concerts, and other programmed events.

As part of the project, former shipping containers were repurposed into food-truck-style installations as specialty venues for local chefs to showcase their street food creations. As a signature design element of Sparkman Wharf, these containers were decorated by local Tampa artists to tie in the industrial feel and harken back to the history of Port Tampa Bay. In addition, the site was designed to offer ample seating, mist stations, shade coverage, and connectivity to enhance the user experience and encourage longer visits.

Colorful, Tampa-inspired signage, wayfinding, and lighting design further contribute to Sparkman Wharf’s distinct identity, creating a truly one-of-a-kind sense of place. With our team’s services for this fully realized design, Sparkman Wharf harmonizes rich local character, history, and modern urban waterfront design to create a unique community gathering space while also sparking economic vitality.

Photos courtesy of Foto Bohemia