Gasworx project's tallest residential building hits milestone

After nearly a year of construction, one of the tallest buildings in  Ybor City’s Gasworx development has reached full height. 

More than 300 workers with Moss Construction celebrated their work on the 10-story tall Olivette building Friday with a “topping out” ceremony and party. The residential tower, which will offer 376 apartments once completed, looms over “phase 2” of the Gasworx development — a 50-acre mixed-use development connecting Ybor City to downtown Tampa’s Channel District. 

“After working through the hot days, the cold days, the wind —  it's a major milestone for our projects,” says Toby Manulak, senior vice president of Moss’ Mid-Florida Region, which is based in Tampa. “Once we get to topping out, then we immediately start, as you can kind of see, we're working around the structure. You’ll see the skin will start to come on the building and all the interior walls.”

Phase 1 of the development included two more residential buildings: the 390-home The Stevedore building, which welcomed its first residents on April 1, and the 317-unit La Union Residences and Social Hall, which opened in 2024. 

Phase 2 of the highly-anticipated Gasworx development includes the residential Olivette building, which is next to a “trophy office” building that straddles the dividing line between what’s considered historic Ybor City and the rest of Tampa. The part of the building that’s within Ybor’s City limits rises four stories high, while the part outside city limits rises 6 stories, creating a stair-step effect following the borders of Tampa's historic enclave. 

Photo by Anastasia Dawson

The office building, has yet to be named, will be anchored by Grow Financial and is scheduled for completion later this year. Grow Financial has rented out 50% of the building, with plans to not only set up offices inside, but a full bank branch on the bottom floor. Designs for the building reserve 10,000-square-feet for office space and 15,000-square-feet for retail, and also include a bottom-floor cafe and a rooftop terrace, both of which would be open to the public.

Across the street is a 140-unit residential building called “The Luisa” and an adjacent 28,000-square-foot marketplace built out of the remains of a 1950’s-era brick warehouse preserved by developers.

Developers call the street running between the Olivette and the marketplace the “3rd Avenue Paseo,” and hope to emulate the streets of Europe with outdoor dining and music, shutting the road down to traffic during peak pedestrian periods to allow for a leisurely stroll through pop-up markets and other events to Gasworx Park, a new city park that will offer open lawn, tree-lined promenades, picnic areas and cooling water features similar to those in Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park. 

The Luisa reached its highest point in March and is on track to open to the public next spring, says Gabrielle Soriano, vice president of Gasworx marketing and communications for Kettler. Based in Washington, D.C., Kettler is a national real estate investor, developer and property management company that has partnered with Ybor City developer Darryl Shaw and international property company PPF Real Estate to build Gasworx. 

“At the moment, we're really about a year away from really getting to the point where everyone can enjoy Gasworx,” says Damian Presiga, managing director at Kettler. “We're actually going to have the office building open, put tenants inside and working by the end of the year, our park is also going to be completed early spring of next year, and the market as well. So we're really excited to kind of have another destination here in Tampa to really enjoy.”

While that residential building will feature more affordable homes, like studios and single-bedrooom apartments without amenities, the Olivette will feature everything from rooftop courtyards and pools to a gym, “listening lounge” and co-working spaces. The Olivette, named for the steamship that once carried Cuban immigrants to Ybor City from Havana, will also include more than 29,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space, along with a structured parking garage and 481 parking spaces. 

The Olivette was designed by S9 Architecture in partnership with architect of record Smallwood and interior design led by S9 and Bandura. Construction is expected to be completed next year. 

Gasworx developers also recently announced plans to build a 4,300-seat Live Nation music venue, expected to open in 2028 and bringing a slice of Ybor City nightlife to the new live-work-play district.