Skanska Awarded Contract For $57M Imagine Clearwater Project

CLEARWATER, FL — Global development and construction firm Skanska has been awarded the contract to construct the water front park and entertainment venue in Coachman Park in downtown Clearwater.

The project will cost $57 million. When completed in 2023, it will be the centerpiece of Imagine Clearwater, a massive downtown waterfront redevelopment project designed to transform Clearwater into a live-work-play destination that will attract residents and visitors, introduce new outdoor amenities, enhanced public spaces and increase public safety.

“Imagine Clearwater is a model of how to transform underutilized public spaces into an active city center waterfront that will better meet the needs of the local community and visitors of all ages,” said Michael C. Brown, executive vice president and general manager responsible for Skanska’s Florida building operations. “We are proud that Skanska, along with our design partners, will deliver an enhanced park that will have a transformational role in the future of Clearwater’s waterfront.”

The redesigned 26-acre waterfront park will include a shaded bluff walk, new gardens and a scenic lake, offering a greater variety of recreation such as pedestrian walkways, cycling and community events.

The park will also have a 4,000-seat band shell covered amphitheater, backstage structures and a 4-acre green for attendees to enjoy entertainment.

Clearwater’s downtown waterfront sits on a bluff along Florida’s coastline and the project will enhance by views of the Intracoastal Waterway and downtown Clearwater.

Skanska’s design partner on this project is Stantec Engineering.

Skanska’s long-standing commitment to the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater metropolitan area includes the construction of several public space projects, including the new St. Petersburg Pier, Pier Approach and Gateway, Julian B. Lane Riverfront Park and Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park and Kiley Gardens.

Another recent project in the region was the new University of South Florida Morsani College of Medicine and Heart Institute in downtown Tampa, a 226,000-square-foot research and education facility at Johns Hopkins Medicine All Children’s Hospital in St. Petersburg, and the $122 million renovation and expansion of Tampa International Airport’s main passenger terminal.

Related stories:

• Video: City Invites Public To View Imagine Clearwater Designs
• Clearwater Residents Invited to 'Imagine' Downtown Waterfront's Future
• Clearwater Officials Want To Tap Into Residents' Imaginations