LARGO, Fla. — The opening of the new Largo City Hall is just days away and Tampa Bay 28 got an inside look at the new development, Horizon West Bay.
This new headquarters for everything city-related is 88,000 square feet.
Another 18,000 square feet will be dedicated to retail space.
"This is the symbol of the kind of the revitalization of Largo for us, we're growing a downtown from the ground up. We are connecting our community with a new, vibrant, entertaining area, which is intended to be more than just a place for city people to work. It's intended for a place for the community to gather and to do more than just bring issues around the government to us; it's so they can play, eat, and enjoy each other in one of our many new civic spaces," said City Manager John Curp.
The city has already landed Parlor Doughnuts and Pappa's Greek Deli.
City officials say their former building was becoming obsolete and no longer fit for their workforce. So, bringing Horizon West Bay to life creates a centerpiece for a new downtown.
There will be an unnamed anchor restaurant and another space that's still available to help bring people to the area.
"I think Largo has always been known as kind of a sleepy bedroom community. This is about creating new spaces. We're going up. And density is important to maintaining affordable quality housing and affordable spaces for businesses to come and locate. This is the anchor that we're already seeing interest in all around this investment, right across the street from the horizon. We have a brand new investment, Liberty Yards by Arden developers, who are bringing four new businesses in a multi-story project. And we've also had a lot of interest in bringing hundreds of residents downtown for both hotel and apartment and condo and condominiums. So we're very excited, we're creating a revitalized, almost brand new neighborhood that's going to bring all the amenities that people want in a livable, walkable, modern community," said Curp.
The price tag for Horizon West Bay is $83 million. An opening date has not yet been decided.
"We like to tell everyone we are Tampa Bay's community of choice is because we offer something for everyone here, whatever your interest is, whatever you like, whatever lifestyle you want. We have it here. We're building our downtown urban environment. We have suburban environments. We have parks that rival anything throughout the region, that attract events of all sorts. And so our commission and our community have always been dedicated to the fact that we have something here for everyone. And wherever you go, you can find something that suits the way you want to live," said Curp.
Federal officials monitor Middle East threats, experts warn of attacks and cyberattacks in the US
The FBI says its counterterrorism teams are ready to mobilize as experts warn of potential sleeper cell attacks, lone wolf violence, and Iranian cyberattacks targeting U.S. systems.
