Mission & History

1975 – Riverwalk project conceived by Mayor Bill Poe in 1975 as a bi-centennial event 
1976 – Waterfront walkway of wooden planks installed in the Curtis Hixon Park area 
1989 – CNBC Plaza (Rivergate Tower) and ramp constructed 
1989 – Wooden planks replaced with granite pavers 
2000 – Marriott Waterside Hotel opened 
2003 – Cotanchobee Ft Brooke Park opened 
2005 – MacDill Park opened 
2006 – Phase I Master Plan completed 
2006 – USF Park opened 
2008 – Platt Street Bridge Underpass opened 
2009 – Tampa Convention Center, Cotanchobee Ft Brooke Park extension and South Plaza completed 
2010 – Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park opened; Cass Street crosswalk enhancement completed 
2013 – Brorein Street Underpass, Brownstone, CapTrust and TCC connector completed 
2014 – Water Works Park completed 
2015 – Kennedy Boulevard Plaza (1460 feet over water completed and funded by TIGER Grant) 
2016 – Straz Center to Water Works Park completed and funded by TIGER Grant 
2020 – The Heights District Riverwalk extension completed
2020 - City of Tampa received notice of a $24M award from the U.S. Department of Transportation under the Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development (BUILD) Transportation Discretionary Grant Program 

History of Friends of the Riverwalk, Inc. 
Incorporated as a Florida Not-For-Profit entity on July 7, 2005 
Given 501(c)(3) status effective July 7, 2005 
Raised over $2,778,000 cash and in-kind 
Transferred over $1,350,000 directly to the city to fund design and construction activity