Old Flour Mill In Channel District To Be Razed For Water Street Tampa

TAMPA, FL — It's been standing for nearly 85 years, but in a matter of months, bulldozers will demolish the facilities that once housed the Ardent Mills flour mill at 110 S. Nebraska Ave. in downtown Tampa.

To say goodbye to the dilapidated 1938 mill and welcome the opportunity to reconnect the once-industrial Channel District to downtown Tampa and other neighborhoods, Tampa Mayor Jane Castor, Hillsborough County Commissioner Harry Cohen, Tampa Downtown Partnership President Lynda Remund and representatives of Strategic Property Partners, the new owner of the mill site, gathered Friday to watch a ceremonial razing of one of the old metal buildings at the flour mill.

“This is a moment to celebrate the continued transformation of our downtown," Remund said. “If you stood in this spot 50 years ago, you’d be surrounded by warehouses, a lumberyard and an asphalt factory. Today, we have amazing cultural attractions, a startup hub/technology incubator, world-class hotels and one of America’s top 50 medical schools for research. Our future is bright.”

Over the next few months, lead contractor Kimmins Contracting Corp. will dismantle the mill piece by piece. Planners intend to preserve some of the flour mill’s large silos and repurpose them.

Much of eastern downtown Tampa, including the former flour mill site, was created in the 1910s on land formed with sand left over from the dredging Ybor Channel, now part of Port Tampa Bay.

The old mill property is bordered by South Meridian Avenue to the east, Nebraska Avenue and the Selmon Expressway to the west, Finley Street, East Cumberland Avenue and Brorein Street to the south and Whiting Street to the north.

When the mill was constructed and opened in 1938, the facility cut off multiple downtown through roads, including Whiting and Finley streets.

Over the years, as Ardent Mills grew to include 40 mills and mixing facilities around the country specializing in flour, quinoa and gluten-free products for commercial bakers and food manufacturers, it needed a modern, state-of-the-art facility in Tampa.

Four years ago, the mill relocated to a new $100 million plant on 10 acres at Port Tampa Bay’s Port Redwing near Apollo Beach.

Seeing an opportunity to expand its $3.5 billion Water Street Tampa mixed-development community in the Channel District, Strategic Property Partners, led by Tampa Bay Lightning owner Jeff Vinik and Bill Gates' Cascade Investment, snapped up the old mill site for $13 million.

Castor also saw an opportunity to reconnect the long-separated Channel District to downtown Tampa and surrounding neighborhoods.

“This will have a major impact on one of our most important goals for Tampa: bringing the people of our city together,” Castor said. “For 84 years, this site fragmented our streets and sidewalks, splitting our downtown in two. By reconnecting these links, we will supercharge the sense of community that we know every neighborhood needs to thrive.”

With the mill gone, she said these areas can be linked once again, enabling people to commute more quickly and safely between the Channel District and downtown Tampa.

A major proponent of urban trails, the mayor also viewed it as an opportunity to provide more bike paths and trails for residents to walk their dogs.

Cohen agreed.

“Our county’s population is projected to reach 1.6 million by 2026,” said Cohen, whose district includes Downtown Tampa. “This puts us at a crossroads. We can choose to be unprepared and let this influx of people overwhelm our infrastructure and degrade our community or we can make the right moves—like this one—with smart investments, to capture the benefits of growth with fewer of the drawbacks.”