THEA Names Three Finalists for Downtown Sites Including HQ

The Tampa Hillsborough Expressway Authority board voted October 26, 2026 to narrow the field to three developers for two downtown sites: a 1.41-acre parcel at South Meridian Avenue and East Whiting Street beside Water Street Tampa, and its headquarters site at 1104 East Twiggs Street. The 1.42-acre Twiggs property sits on the northern edge of the Channel District, near Ybor City and Tampa Union Station.

The Twiggs site holds THEA's 27,727-square-foot headquarters and traffic management center. The agency issued the offering under RFQ E-0326, Real Estate Development Opportunities, on June 25, 2026. Apartments, hotels, offices, retail and mixed-use buildings are all possibilities, and developers can propose building on either site or both.

Any project on the Twiggs site must include roughly 20,000 square feet of replacement space for THEA: offices, a boardroom, a traffic control room and parking. The Meridian site is zoned CBD-2, with no formal height or FAR cap and a 10 percent open space requirement.

THEA is weighing two deal structures: an outright sale or a long-term ground lease with retained ownership. No development plan or land deal has been approved, and a developer selection is pending.