Water Street Tampa is a “transformative new lifestyle destination” located in downtown Tampa. The neighborhood development is the first in the country to receive WELL Community Certification.
Water Street Tampa was instrumental in piloting the WELL Community Certification back in 2017 and now has received the Gold level of certification with the newly released full standard.
The neighborhood focuses on key aspects of health and wellness to achieve the certification, including improving walkability with double-wide sidewalks and engaging street-level experiences, measuring neighborhood air quality, fostering high levels of community engagement through a comprehensive public art program and regular free public events, increasing access to drinking water through strategically placed water stations increasing access to healthy foods with a neighborhood grocery story and regular farmers markets, encouraging movement via new bike lanes and free community fitness classes, increasing digital connectivity through free public Wi-Fi, incorporating native landscaping, reducing light and noise pollution, and much more.
According to a release from the International WELL Building Institute, “the certification celebrates Water Street Tampa’s successful, strategic integration of design and policy decisions that promote health and well-being across all aspects of the neighborhood.”
The WELL Community Standard is intended to promote and foster health and wellness across all aspects of community life. The WELL Community Standard is based on the same science and evidence-based outcomes as the signature WELL Building Standard. The idea is to improve the lives of their residents and visitors through the concepts of air, water, nourishment, light, movement, thermal comfort, sound, materials, mind and community.
Greg Zimmerman is senior contributing editor for FacilitiesNet.com and Building Operating Management magazine.
