let's count all of the things in common with this ferg's |
| I asked Jay what he wanted this new place to be known for, and he was definitive in his response. "LIVE MUSIC!" They plan on having live music at least 6 nights a week. He actually said he wanted it to be known as the "Jannus Landing of Tampa." Now that's a big feat. He is calling Ferg's Live a Concert Venue. There will be music starting 3 hours prior to any Lightning Game or Major event happening at he Arena, and then a regular schedule for other nights. |  |
  | There's a nice and pretty unique stage for the bands and DJ's to play on as well. The yellow structure on the second level shown in this photo is the stage. Another interesting feature is the special VIP Room that is located on the first level under the stage. This room holds up to 25 people and is available to be reserved/rented out. It will come with the space and a roped off area in front of the space as well. Oh, and it is fully air-conditioned! The outside area is huge in it of itself. There is 4,000 sq ft of outdoor space covered under the awning and I would guess another 4-5k sq. ft in the open area. The total capacity of the venue is just under 1,000. |
tidbits of interest to residents  | Lunch - There will be lunch served 7 days a week. Residents and people who work downtown now have another lunch spot. Parking - There are 175 spaces of free parking next to Ferg's. And if that runs out, there are another 200 spots right behind them with only a $1 charge. But there is catch... That is only available if there is nothing happening at the Arena. If there is an event across the street, you are on your own to find parking. Dogs - For those of you with dogs, which we know is most of you, your canine companion is welcome in the outdoor areas of the venue. Bikes - There is a Coast Bike Share location right outside of the venue. If we ever get more than the one bike share location that we currently have in Channelside, this may be a good option. If you are riding your own bike, there are plenty of spaces to lock up on the iron gate that encloses the entire venue. Happy Hours - Happy Hours will be weekdays from 3-7pm. We mentioned to Jay that most of the residents we know are not able to make happy hours that end at 7pm. We find that people who live in Channelide for the most part work late, then go to the gym or workout, and then after all of that, they may want to go grab a drink and some food. He's considering a later happy hour until 10pm just for this reason. Sundaze - Looking for something relaxed and beach-like to do on Sundays without having to drive all the way out to the beach? Us too! Ferg's will be doing a weekly event they are calling "Sundaze." Every Sunday starting April 12th they will have a Jimmy Buffet style band starting at 1pm, a Bloody Mary Bar, Green Egg grills making some BBQ, beach games in the courtyard, and the best part... No shirts or shoes required! |
Jay seemed genuinely interested in being part of the Channelside and Downtown Tampa Community. He talked about the way his staff is trained and that "excellent" and "friendly" service is the No. 1 thing he looks for in the 78 new staff members he just hired.
Jay said that he wants Ferg's Live to be a locals bar with a "BAW/BAG" policy. This means when you come to his establishment, you will be greeted with a "Big Ass Welcome" and when you are ready to leave... a "Big Ass Goodbye!" The goal is to make sure everyone feels both welcomed and appreciated when they visit.
The Actual Opening Day is March 26th, but they are soft opened until then.
Jay said that he wants Ferg's Live to be a locals bar with a "BAW/BAG" policy. This means when you come to his establishment, you will be greeted with a "Big Ass Welcome" and when you are ready to leave... a "Big Ass Goodbye!" The goal is to make sure everyone feels both welcomed and appreciated when they visit.
The Actual Opening Day is March 26th, but they are soft opened until then.
go check it out and celebrate st. patrick's day all at the same time
| Ferg's and Irish 31 are celebrating in a big way. A 4-day celebration where you can play cornhole for a $1,500 cash prize, participate in a get your Jig on Dance Contest for a $500 prize, a Fun walk benefiting the Ronald McDonald House, and a whole bunch of green beer drinking good times. They are also having the Brew Bus available to shuttle folks between Hyde Park and Channelside every 15 minutes on St. Patrick's Day. |  |
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The team over at Skyhouse Channelside sat down to give us the skinny on the new development. They outlined the completion schedule, gave us a peek into pricing expectations and revealed details that you will only read here first. If you are thinking about packing up and moving to the Skyhouse Channelside, you'll want to read on!
 | The project got off to a bit of a rocky start with the neighborhood when they first started construction. Those followers of our Channelside Residents Facebook Page may remember some upset neighbors complaining about loud sound and bright lights shining into their windows from the construction crane all night long. Once the construction project leaders at Batson-Cook heard the complaints they made several changes to the schedule that relieved many of the concerns. We could tell they genuinely wanted to be a better neighbor while building this huge building. And now for the details and some inside scoop |
Basic Specs
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28 different layoutsWe don't know a ton about residential construction, but having 28 different style units seems like a lot. This breaks down to 5 styles of studio's, 12 for one bedrooms, 3 for two bedrooms, and 8 different three bedrooms. Some of the layouts vary only slightly, but all units have a balcony. Studios Pricing: $1,185 - $1,683 One Bedrooms: $1,295 - $2,634 Two Bedrooms: $1,867 - $2,358 Three Bedroom: $2,395 - $2,930 | |
Parking
 The parking garage is also detached from the building. This means that everyone needs to get to the ground level of the garage, walk under a covered walkway to the first floor concierge entrance to the building, and then take one of the 2 main elevators up to your floor. | The parking garage seemed to be built at lightning speed. They used some type of modular garage that came in really large pieces that were assembled together. It only took a few weeks. They will have 567 parking spots and the parking costs are interesting....
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pet policy
| Anyone that lives in Channelside or has spent any time walking around our streets, knows that the majority of residents have a pet. Dogs are frequently seen walking the streets and using our dog park. So, what kind of rules will they have for pets?
utilities |  |
It seems like each building in the Channel District has a different take on what they charge for utilities and who they have for Cable/Internet.
- Water/Trash - Directly billed to the residents of each unit. They actually have sub-meters to gauge water usage. The building will also utilize trash shoots versus the valet trash some building have.
- Cable/Internet - They have no restricted providers. Brighthouse has configured service; Direct Path can be hooked up, but dishes cannot be affixed to the building; and Verizon is more than welcome but the good folks at Verizon don't seem to have much interest in actually hooking up the building for service. If you know someone that works for Verizon...ask them what's up with that?
want a tour of a unit?
| Tough. They cannot give tours until the entire building is finished. Actually, they wont even begin moving people into the building until the ENTIRE BUILDING is complete. The builders plan on handing the keys over to the management team sometime in June. However, they have a very nice sales location set-up right behind the building on 11th street and have a kitchen set-up for you to see and touch, and a really cool huge interactive TV that walks you through the whole building. The team was extremely accommodating to my one million questions and couldn't be nicer to deal with. When we went by to see them, they gave us a nice portable doggie water bowl and a poopie bag holder for your leash. Go by and say hi and I bet you get some of the same swag! |   |
other random things to know
Renter's Insurance
Income Requirements
Rent-able Storage Space
- This is an absolute requirement and proof of insurance is needed before move-in.
Income Requirements
- They require 3 x's the monthly rent.
- They will perform both a credit check and background check. And if you have something weird in your history and feel like disclosing it in hopes you have a better chance to get accepted...don't bother. They use an automated system that either approve's or deny's you.
Rent-able Storage Space
- Yes they will have some. No, they don't have any more detail than that to provide. I understand they have a waiting list and will rent space on a first come basis.
- Yes, they have it. Bathroom's and kitchen's are granite and if your unit has a kitchen island that will be granite too.
- This is a huge concern of ours. But with a concrete structure and hurricane impact glass, hearing your neighbors shouldn't be a big issue.
- We found it interesting that each elevator will have a FOB reader and if you live on floor 11, then your FOB will only get you to floor 11 (and also the top club level floor as well). I just wonder if you had friends living on floor 18, how would you get up to see them??
Final thoughts
The building looks like its going to be gorgeous. The roof top amenities are surely going to be the envy of the other buildings in the area, and with 12 other "Skyhouse" buildings in cities around the country, it seems like they know what will work and what won't.
The units come at a top tier price range and the square footage for the price seems smaller than other options in the neighborhood. So, the question is...are you thinking about moving to the first Channelside highrise, or are you happy staying put where you are now?
The units come at a top tier price range and the square footage for the price seems smaller than other options in the neighborhood. So, the question is...are you thinking about moving to the first Channelside highrise, or are you happy staying put where you are now?
harbour island ATHLETIC club
Channelside is booming with good places to workout. We have the popular Powerhouse Gym and the newly opened Orangetheory Fitness right in our back yards. In addition, many of us have small gym's located right in our buildings. When walking around the area I consistently see people in workout clothes and all of this makes me think that the majority of residents in Channelside choose to workout in some way on a regular basis.
Well, we have another option for you.
We were recently invited to tour the Harbour Island Athletic Club located on, well...Harbour Island, and I have to say I was pretty impressed. Its very different than the other options in the neighborhood. Here is an overview of the gym from my perspective.
Well, we have another option for you.
We were recently invited to tour the Harbour Island Athletic Club located on, well...Harbour Island, and I have to say I was pretty impressed. Its very different than the other options in the neighborhood. Here is an overview of the gym from my perspective.
Location
It took us 4 minutes to drive to the club from my condo in Channelside. Super close.
Actually, in the future I would just ride my bike there as I felt guilty driving such a short distance.
Actually, in the future I would just ride my bike there as I felt guilty driving such a short distance.
equipment
We had heard from people before that this gym was older and the equipment was older as well. I couldn't disagree more. They replaced most of the weight machines with Life Fitness equipment just a year ago. All of the treadmills, stair climbers and elliptical's were all working and looked to be in good shape. Here are some photos.
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I have been a few times now in both the morning and evening and it never seems crowded in this gym. It's a nice layout and people are very respectful of each other. They wipe down the equipment after using it and I didn't notice anyone trying to take ownership of machines for much too long.
Pool(s)
There is a large outdoor pool with (4) 25 meter lanes. There is also a smaller kids pool as well. There's a tiki bar they open in the summer and they bring out a steel drum player. Sounds like a nice way to unwind after a workout.
 Basketball / RacketballThe first thing you notice when you walk in the front door, besides the smiling attendant waiting to greet you, is an NBA sized basketball court. Its looks just massive when its located indoors with the high ceiling. There are 2 racquetball courts as well. |   |
tennis, tennis, and more tennis
15 tennis courts take up a ton of real estate on Harbour Island. I cant believe they still have this many courts! The courts are all clay and they do charge a small monthly up-charge in addition to the membership fee to be able to play on their courts.
Amenities / Daycare
The amenities are what really stood out to me: a spa where they do massages and body wraps; towel service with fresh towels located in all of the different areas; everything you need to shower and shave in the locker rooms, including razors; all of the lockers have digital locks so you don't need to bring your own pad lock; free wifi; and don't forget that tiki bar by the pool!
Plus, if you have a little one, they offer free daycare for up to 2 hours a day while you work out. How cool is that?
Plus, if you have a little one, they offer free daycare for up to 2 hours a day while you work out. How cool is that?
With over 85 group fitness classes weekly, a cycling studio, a Pilates studio, and over 25 professional trainers on staff, I think this gym just might have it all. We reached out to their Director of Sales, Christine Remy to see if they would offer the readers of Channelside Residents a deal and she sent up the flyer below. They have discounts for young professionals under 30, corporate discounts, and allow month to month memberships. If nothing else, go try it out for a week for free to see what you think.
We took a tour of The Pier House today. The area is still heavily under construction and they only had one unit available for us to peek at. We met with Megan who was very nice and seemed genuinely excited about this new property. Overall it seems like it will be a nice place to live. We did have a few comments and some concerns that we will note in this blog.
The Pier House Sales Kit
The Pier House is going to open up in 5 phases. Building 1 is opening this June, building 4 this July, building 2 (the largest building) will open in two phases. The first in August and the second in September, and then the last building, building 3, opens in October. You can clearly see the pool, a fire pit, a fountain, and gas grills on this map.
We were able to tour "The Cayman". Where they come up with these names for each style unit is beyond us but we assume we are supposed to feel like we are in the Cayman Islands. See below for pictures of the unit and the floor plan with pricing.
 Here is a view of the livingroom |  Another view of the livingroom |
 Kitchen has stainless steel and granite counter tops |  Another view of the kitchen |
 Master Bedroom |  Master Closet |
 Master bath with a very large soaking tub |  A second closet in the master bedroom |
 The laundry closet |  Here is what the hallways look like |
Overall it seems like it will be a nice place and great new addition to the neighborhood. A couple of things to note.
- The building will have elevators.
- They are pet friendly and will allow up to two dogs per unit with a total max weight of 100 lbs. There is a $300 pet fee and you have to pay an extra $20/month for "pet rent".
- You get 2 parking spots with each unit.
- Trash is included.
- Cable in NOT included. Tenants will be able to chose from Brighthouse or Verizon.
- Units do NOT come with any pre-installed security.
- While they do have some retail space none of it has been officially leased out yet.
 "The Cayman" 1,083 sq. ft. of living space and they range from $1,725 - $1,915 |  "The Martinique" 1,173 sq. ft. of living space and they range from $1,965 - $2,140 |
If you want a tour or are interested in renting, please call them at 813-501-3900. They have over 160 tours scheduled this week alone so there is a lot of interest to check out these new units.
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