Franklin has been developing as a hot spot. Franklin Street has been the little engine that can.

It's too bad because I loved that project. I thought the old-warehouse concept would add some real character to the neighborhood.

We know of Tom and his history with Fifth and Forbes. We want to hear about profiles in courage, and the kind of impact creative thinking can have in a downtown.

We use it as a place to meet with potential developers and anyone who's interesting in knowing what's going on downtown. We know people look at it because there are always fingerprints and forehead prints on the glass.

Things that St. Pete does very well we can learn from and maybe adapt for downtown Tampa. [But] I don't ever imagine Tampa's downtown to be in competition with St. Pete's. We work more to complement each other.