Downtown Tampa tidbits: Tampa Bay Sun FC, Pendry construction, Water Street openings

Tampa Bay’s women’s professional soccer club has unveiled its name, colors and logo.

The Tampa Bay Sun FC will wear blue and yellow with a sun logo. Team leaders and Tampa Mayor Jane Castor made the big reveal during a November 4th community event in Ybor City.

“We wanted to capture part of what we all love about the Tampa Bay Area and find a symbol that’s full of energy, with the power to connect us all together,” club President Christina Unkel says in a press release.

The Tampa Bay Sun FC will start play in the inaugural season of the USL Super League in August 2024. For its first seasons, the club will share a downtown riverfront stadium on the west side of the Hillsborough River with Howard W. Blake High School. The club is investing $4 million to upgrade and expand the stadium.

“As a fan, this location unlocks an entire evening of fun, with so many hubs of activity around downtown Tampa,” Unkel says in an October press release.  “You can have dinner with friends, then hop on a water taxi or stroll to the Riverwalk, and ‘march to the match’ to cheer for your team.” 

For more information, go to Tampa Bay Sun FC

Construction starts on Pendry

A November 1st groundbreaking event marked the start of construction on the 39-floor tower along the Tampa Riverwalk that will house the Pendry Tampa hotel and Pendry Residences Tampa.

The tower is slated to open in early 2026 with 220 hotel rooms and suites and 207 luxury residences. There will also be several restaurants and cafes, an open-air pool and terrace on the 12th floor and a 20,000-square-foot spa with a fitness center and more than a dozen treatment rooms. 

The Pendry is a partnership between Pendry Hotels & Resorts and Two Roads Development. It’s designed by Arquitectonica and being built by Coastal Construction.

Toastique opens at Water Street Tampa

Gourmet toast and juice bar Toastique opened in Water Street Tampa in late October. The Tampa location, at 1011 E. Cumberland Ave, is open seven days a week from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. 

Water Street Tampa joins Orlando and Sarasota as Toastique’s Florida locations. Toastique is also in Washington D.C., California, Colorado, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah and Virginia.

Looking ahead, Yard House, a high-end sports bar chain with a massive selection of draft beer, is slated to open at Water Street this fall. In spring 2024, locally-owned blow dry bar Sip & Dry; chef Ferrell Alvarez’s Ash restaurant, which will feature Italian-inspired cuisine; and music-themed cocktail lounge Alter Ego are slated to open.
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