Valentine's Day Dinner at Eddie V's

Valentine’s Day Partner Experience - Thai Yoga Massage

Valentine's Day To-Go

Tampa Bay Singles "Sexy Party!" Valentine's Day 2020 | WTR Tampa

Dress to impress + Mix & Mingle with other Tampa Bay Area Singles & Professionals! We'll have our own PRIVATE Tampa Bay Singles VIP area, VIP Private Bar & Tables over-looking the beautiful Tampa Skyline! We look forward to enjoying a BEAUTIFUL night of FUN, entertainment, and meeting NEW single professionals in the Tampa Bay Area!

$20 VIP Tickets will include:
(1) Complimentary Drink Ticket
Private Event Area & Private Ocean View Bar
VIP Drink Specials 8 p.m. - 10 p.m.
(1) Raffle Ticket for a chance to win raffle prizes, gift cards, etc.
$3 Bud Light, Coors Light, Yuengling, Mich Ultra & Miller Lite
$4 House Wines
$5 Titos, Captain, Bicardi, Milagro, Rum Haven, New Amsterdam Vodka & Jack Daniels

$500 Tampa Bay Singles "Overnight" Cabana Package
Private Cabana + Bottle for you & your friends (4-6 people)
(1) Hotel Stay at the Godfrey Hotel & Cabanas
VIP Drink Specials 8 p.m. - 10 p.m.

Fri Feb 14, 8:00 p.m.-10:00 p.m.
WTR Pool & Grill
7700 W. Courtney Campbell Causeway, Tampa, FL 33607
Click here for more info.

Galentine's Day Beer & Chocolate Pairing

Join us for a Galentine's day chocolate and beer pairing led by Advanced Cicerone, Ami Parrino. With your ticket, you will receive four chocolates carefully paired with four of our beers and a guided explanation of how the chocolate and beer harmonize with each other. We have a very limited amount of seats available, TREAT YO' SELF now before they sell out.
P.S. If you’re unable to get there in person you can grab goodies from UberEats and other local delivery services.

Thu Feb 13, 7:00 p.m.-8:30 p.m.
Brew Bus Brewing
4101 N Florida Ave, Tampa, FL 33603
Click here for more info.

Enterprise Florida’s State of Florida 2018 Average Annual County Wage Data Report shows Hillsborough County’s average annual wages are higher than in other Tampa Bay counties. A release from the Tampa Hillsborough Economic Development Council said the higher wages, combined with Tampa’s lower cost of living, “are key factors that are driving talent to locate in Hillsborough County.” This is the first time in over a decade that Hillsborough County’s average annual wages have surpassed every other county in the state, the EDC said. 

Widen the scope to include the Tampa Bay region’s average private sector wage of $48,304 and there’s a major gap compared to our competition. Tampa Bay ranks 19th out of the 20 markets the Tampa Bay Partnership examined in its latest Regional Competitiveness Report presented last week. That trails every community except Orlando. The average regional wages here are just 60 percent of the average wage in top-ranked Seattle. 

Within the Tampa Bay region, there are significant disparities. More than $18,000 separates the average private sector wage in Hernando and Hillsborough, and even as our top performer, Hillsborough still falls short of the United States average, said the Partnership’s director of policy and research Dave Sobush in remarks shared with the Tampa Bay Business Journal.

“If you’re a woman in Tampa Bay, your prospects are even worse,” he said. “Male workers over the age of 25 in Tampa Bay earn a median wage of $41,000 per year, while female workers are earning less than $32,000 per year...and we can see that this wage gap persists at every level of education.” Are Tampa companies paying workers less for the same job? Or, are the functions we’re doing here in Tampa Bay lower skill, and therefore, lower pay?

Craig’s Take:

The fact that wages are higher in Hillsborough County than other Bay area counties is not surprising. Wages are typically higher in the more urban and densely populated areas. The more concerning factor is that the average regional wages here are only 60% of the wages in top-ranked Seattle. I do believe there are some clear contributing factors that can explain some of the gap. One contributing factor is that the cost living in the Tampa Bay area is far less than many of the other major cities. This combined with no state income tax allow workers in the Tampa Bay area to live a similar quality of life for lower wages than many of the other major metropolitan areas around the country. Tampa does still lack the ability to attract tech companies and tech talent compared to many other major cities. Jeff Vinik and others are working hard to change this by creating tech start-up incubators and making Tampa a more walk able and desirable place to live to attract tech talent away from other major cities. This is not an overnight process and will take years to see real results on a large level.

The Urban Sprawl is in full swing in Tampa Bay, the developer of University Mall has started to demolish what once was Sears to make way for new construction in the up and coming Uptown District.
The former Sears redevelopment has been slated for the following:

• Up to 1 million square feet of new office space
• Up to 400 hotel rooms
• 1,000 apartments
• 100,000 square feet of street-level restaurants, shops, fitness and experiential concepts
• Redevelopment of the lake frontage to the back of the property
• A greenway pedestrian/bike trail and shuttle bus connection along the lake to the VA hospital campus to the north and the University of South Florida campus to the east

Currently there is not a time frame for construction on the new development. University Mall is a focal point of the emerging Uptown District, an area that covers 19 square miles in both the city of Tampa and Hillsborough County.
Funding has been provided by the county, city, the Tampa Innovation Alliance, USF Board of Trustees, Moffitt Cancer Center, AdventHealth and the University Area Community Development Corp. RD Management executives are envisioning a billion-dollar redevelopment of the mall hoping to turn it into an urban-style village with a focus on life sciences. Read more here.

Craig’s Take:
The Uptown District has gotten little notoriety compared to many of the other Tampa development projects underway like Water Street, Mid-Town, and Westshore Marina District yet it is still an important development for this corridor of Tampa. This part of Tampa hasn’t had development like this in many decades. This is sure to make the once neglected area surrounding USF’s main campus more desirable and vibrant which is a positive thing for the entire Tampa Bay area.

This European inspired showplace is majestically located on the panoramic point of the Grand Canal of Culbreath Isles. This home was originally listed on 5.2.19 at $3,595,000 and went under contract on 11/27/19. _It was sold for $2.5 million on 1/6/20. This neighborhood offers all who reside in this guarded and gated community the privilege of privacy and unparalleled luxury of living on the water - yet minutes from all the amenities Tampa Bay has to offer. This home's unique design maximizes the enjoyment of waterfront living and the pleasure of elegant entertaining. The home is surrounded by 167 feet of deep-water access to Old Tampa Bay and the Gulf of Mexico. A custom designed lap pool with terraced patio area provides a perfect setting for the most enchanted of evenings. A romantic grand salon with soaring ceilings greets you as you enter the home through magnificent double wood carved doors. The elegant raised dining room is perfect for the most intimate of dinners or for grand scale entertaining. The two-story living room features three sets of French doors and a gorgeous brick fireplace with intricately carved mantle. The state-of-the-art kitchen is a chef's paradise featuring custom hand carved cabinetry and professional level appliances. The large family room is just off the kitchen with wonderful views of the pool and water. Additional features include a gym, two concrete docks, one that can easily accommodate yachts up to 100' to satisfy the most demanding of yachtsman.

Craig’s Take:
The property was last sold in 2005 for $2.3 million. The seller was the late Dr. Dennis Pupello who passed away in 2018. Dr. Pupello was a pioneer in cardiovascular surgery, serving on the team for the first heart transplant in Tampa. He was one of the founding members of the cardiac surgery staff at Tampa General hospital. In 1983, he founded St. Joseph’s Heart Institute and performed over 25,000 surgeries until he retired in 2005. The most unique aspect of this home is that it boasts 167 feet of deep-water access providing accommodation for a motor yacht up to 100 ft. This is incredibly rare for South Tampa waterfront real estate. The idea to be in a guard gated community with water frontage large enough to accommodate a 100 ft yacht yet be 10 minutes from the airport is very attractive to many discerning buyers.