To that end, the developer plans to shift the focus of the retail center--notably bringing in tenants that will give Hyde Park Village a neighborhood feel. "Because it is a real neighborhood, less regional although it could be, it needs different types of tenants and different types of restaurants." For example, the center features Timpano, an Italian restaurant, and BT, which Wasserman says are "fantastic, white tablecloth restaurants" but the center needs more casual and less expensive places to eat as well. "There is no place near there that you can have breakfast, lunch and dinner--certainly not breakfast," he explains. "We took the coffee shop that you couldn't park in front of, helped a new tenant move in and we heard people from Harbor Island are now coming to have coffee in the morning. Its just a different presentation."

One major goal of the redevelopment project is to make sure Hyde Park Village "reads as one center," Wasserman adds. The development calls for public art, increased on-street parking and improvements to the park in the middle of the retail center. "We need to integrate it, make it look modern, and acknowledge that people go to Westshore for the Cheesecake Factory and International for other things, but let's provide the best of Tampa and some unique national retailers and restaurants that speak to what this market is."

According to Wasserman, he became involved with Hyde Park Village after having some brief discussions Madison Marquette about working together "on something, some time." Then the Hyde Park Village redevelopment came onto the radar screen. "I knew Hyde Park and thought we could bring our touch to it,' Wasserman explains. "We bought a majority interest in the property. It took me nine months to really think this through to figure out what it could, and what it might, be."

Currently, the developer is waiting for approvals to add a residential component--approximately 250 units with 30,000 sf of retail--and to make several improvements. He expects the approval process to take another three to six months, he adds. "In the meantime, we will continue to rejig our tenants. Brook Brothers is going to relocate to a new store at the center and we hope to announce [more] new tenants shortly," Wasserman says. Most of this, he adds, is subject to getting the approvals.

"This is a great urban location and a great opportunity to make this the center of the community," he explains. "It's a village. We're trying to get back to that."