Imagine a Community Focused on Wellness

The idea of utopia has long been a parochial intellectual interest of mine. From Thomas More to B.F. Skinner, I'm always fascinated by the idea. When it comes to promoting wellness, though, can such a place exist in a modern urban setting?

Of course, literary savants know that utopia really means "nowhere" and are well aware there is really no such perfect living space. Yet that doesn't stop developers from trying to create healthier, more walkable — and environmentally friendly developments, especially when it comes to communities for older Americans.

Marta and Bradley Pollitt, who moved to Water Street Tampa five months ago, found the community was an "alternative to most age-restricted communities." Brad, a retired architect, favored the development's walkability and sustainability features.

"We moved from a suburb near Gainesville where you had to get in a car to go anywhere," he said. "At Water Street, there's a grocery store downstairs, a drug store across the street and you can stop somewhere for a snack or dinner."

Water Street Tampa is an ambitious project that attempts to check most of the boxes for a community focused on wellness. While it still has some concerns, its planners and developer are pushing the envelope on how to foster a healthy environment that also promotes social connection.

Although she's "excited to see more diversity of services coming to the neighborhood," Marta is heartened by the variety of people she encounters walking around: "We wanted to live downtown. It looked and felt good. I liked the energy." She is a retired fundraiser who worked for the University of Florida.

Developed by Strategic Property Partners (SPP), Water Street Tampa is situated in the southeast corner of Tampa's downtown area, within walking distance of restaurants, retail shops, museums and a hockey arena (home to the Tampa Bay Lightning). It expands on the ever-evolving model of a walkable urban neighborhood.

The six-acre development conforms to a WELL Community standard, which focuses on more than 100 individual features that promote high air/water quality, fitness, comfort, light, nourishment and mental/emotional health. Similar to LEED or Energy Star certifications, the WELL standard is more holistic in that it concentrates on wellness as it applies to the design of an entire neighborhood.

Although there are 11 WELL-certified communities around the world, Water Street Tampa is the only one in the U.S. at present.

Brad Cooke, SPP's executive vice president of development, said Water Steet's first phase included 1,300 residences, including rental apartments and 37 condos. While he concedes residents need a car to get around greater Tampa, his company's goal was to create a "vibrant life approach" that took advantage of the city's pocket parks and street life. His company wanted to answer the question "What makes neighborhoods promote health and well-being?"

"Designed to deepen people's interactions with the cityscape," SPP states on its website, "the natural environment and each other, Water Street Tampa embraces wellbeing and outdoor living. Walkable streets connect homes, offices, shops and hotels — all along an accessible waterfront."

Backed by the International WELL Building Institute, the group launched the WELL Community Standard pilot in 2018 as a "district-scale roadmap to implement health and wellbeing-focused strategies to create communities that are inclusive, integrated and resilient, with a strong community identity fostering high levels of social interaction and engagement."

Water Street Tampa's current residences range from rental apartments across three buildings — Heron, Cora and Asher — to hotel-branded condominiums, Cooke notes. Rent at Heron begins at $4,144 for a 688-square-foot one-bedroom apartment. Cora has 388 units ranging from 451-square-foot studios for $1,827 to three-bedroom apartments. Asher has 393 units from studios to two-bedrooms starting at $2,065. Pricing of the condos in the Tampa edition, which are sold out, began at $2 million.

Although rents have soared in nearly every city in the post-pandemic years, some Water Street apartments are priced at a premium relative to the median rent of $2,657 in downtown Tampa, which is already 36% above the U.S. average, according to Zumper.com.

A popular pirate festival and other events attract crowds to downtown Tampa. In addition, the community has access to Tampa's Riverwalk, which connects an arts district to its waterfront and several museums. A greenway with room for walkers, runners and cyclists runs under a busy expressway. And Tampa's TECO line wooden trolleys nearby connect the business district to the Ybor City historic district.

It's clear that when you walk through downtown Tampa, the Water Street development works with the crowded urban space, although there are some unavoidable issues with the location. The area is laced with major highways, which won't guarantee pristine air quality. Traffic can be challenging during home hockey games.

Signaled pedestrian crossings are numerous, although often not adequately marked or timed for disabled walkers. There are far more parking garages than green space. The urban core doesn't have the equivalent of a large central park breaking up the urban tangle.

While there isn't an extensive trail or commuter rail system that connects Water Street to greater Tampa or other cities, more private rail expansion is planned. The Riverwalk could also use much more shade and seating, an essential amenity in the swelter of Florida's ever-longer hot season.

Still, the deliberate focus on walkability as a component of wellness is gaining favor in new developments adopting "New Urbanism" concepts, especially when it comes to addressing the dual concerns of longevity and climate change. Walkable communities may not only have a smaller carbon footprint — presumably, people are driving less and walking more — they can often offer cleaner air and far more opportunities for social interaction.

An abundance of research shows that walkable urban space is not only desirable for older Americans, it's linked to better health outcomes overall. One national study showed that "people in highly walkable neighborhoods were more likely to engage in adequate physical activity, walk near their home, and have a lower body mass index (BMI) — an established indicator of obesity — compared to people in low-walkability neighborhoods." Unfortunately, the most walkable cities — as measured by a Walk Score — also tend to be the most expensive.

There are many other communities across the world that are attempting to link wellness and the environment, which I've featured in previous articles. The important takeaway though, is that it's becoming easier to find them — particularly if they are authentically trying to reduce carbon footprints and enhance overall wellbeing.