Council approves lease amendment and development agreement for 250-foot observation wheel after hours-long debate

The Tampa City Council approved a development agreement and a lease amendment to allow a privately funded 250-foot observation wheel adjacent to the Florida Aquarium, voting to move the measures after a contested public hearing.

The approval lets the aquarium sublease a portion of the city‑owned parking parcel to the wheel operator and authorizes a development agreement governing the wheel’s design, height and operation. City staff and the applicant told council the operator will indemnify the city and the aquarium, list both as additional insureds and submit a lighting plan to limit glare.

Why it matters: the project sits on city land inside the Channel District Community Redevelopment Area and will remove public parking spaces used by aquarium visitors. Proponents say the attraction will generate tourism revenue; opponents warned of nuisance lighting, lost parking and the need to follow competitive public‑asset procedures.

City presentation and key terms Abby Feeley, administrator of Development and Economic Opportunity for the city, described the lease amendment and the related sublease as privately funded. Feeley said, “This is a completely privately funded project,” and that the sublease will pass through rent to the city once outstanding aquarium bond obligations are satisfied.

Under the sublease terms described to council, the city will receive 5 percent of gross revenues above a $7,000,000 breakpoint, with a $75,000 minimum payment in years when revenues exceed the breakpoint. Feeley said those gross revenues include ticket sales, food and beverage and photography. She told council that because aquarium bonds remain outstanding for about two more years, the city cannot collect those pass‑through revenues until bond payouts finish; staff said the agreement provides for double payments for up to two years when collections begin to make up for the period when revenues were held by bond payoffs.

Design, hours, insurance and funding limits The development agreement limits the height increase to the wheel only and states the allowance “does not serve as precedent for other development,” language staff added after council questions. The agreement requires a lighting plan and a “high‑quality pedestrian experience” at the street frontage, and it specifies operating hours from 10 a.m. to midnight. Feeley told council staff added a condition requiring the wheel operator to minimize lighting “when the wheel is not in operation.”

Attorney Jim Schimberg, representing the Tampa Wheel, said the project team conducted broad outreach and that the operator “has confirmed that there was not gonna be any amplified music or noise associated with this.” Tony Miller, a representative for the Tampa Bay Wheel, told council the operator can dim or turn down most exterior lighting after hours and said, “we have the ability to turn the lights way down.”

Public comments and legal objections Several residents and neighborhood representatives spoke against the project, citing concerns about glare into floor‑to‑ceiling windows, loss of parking and whether the city followed procurement rules for CRA property. Resident Allison Hewitt cited Florida Statute 163.38 and an appellate decision concerning Riverside Heights, arguing that CRA property leases or subleases should be exposed to public competitive bidding.

Deputy City Attorney Morris Massey responded that the city previously disposed of the parking interest to the aquarium under an existing lease and that the council action before the body was consent to a sublease. Massey said, “What the Riverside Heights decision says is that we cannot dispose of an interest in city owned land in a CRA without going through the RFP process. This interest has already been disposed of. We have already entered into a lease with the aquarium. We are amending that lease to allow the consenting to the sublease.”

Council action and votes Council moved item 32 (the lease amendment) and item 61 (the development agreement) for a second‑reading vote during the meeting. Both measures passed; a final roll call showed Councilwoman Hertek and Councilman Carlson voting no on the measures while the remainder of the council voted to approve them.

What remains Staff and the applicant were directed to finalize the lighting plan during permitting and to continue community outreach. The development agreement also states that no city or CRA funds will be used for the wheel and that the sublease term matches the aquarium’s lease through 2039.

Provenance: This article draws on staff presentations, applicant remarks and public comment that began when item 32 and item 61 were presented to council and continued through the council votes.