International Plaza and Bay Street facts for kids
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| Location | Tampa, Florida, United States |
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| Coordinates | 27°57′52″N 82°31′15″W / 27.964447°N 82.520748°W |
| Address | 2223 N Westshore Blvd |
| Opening date | September 14, 2001 |
| Developer | Taubman Centers |
| Owner | Taubman Centers |
| No. of stores and services | 200 |
| No. of anchor tenants | 3 |
| Total retail floor area | 1,253,000 sq ft (116,400 m2) |
| No. of floors | 2 (3 in Dillard's) |
| Parking | Surface lot, 2 parking garages, and valet. |
International Plaza and Bay Street is a very popular shopping and dining spot in Tampa, Florida. It's located right next to the Tampa International Airport. This big place is actually made up of two main parts: International Plaza and Bay Street.
International Plaza is a traditional indoor shopping mall. It has many stores, including big department stores like Dillard's, Neiman Marcus, and Nordstrom. It also has a large fitness center called LifeTime Athletic.
Bay Street is a newer, outdoor area. It's mostly known for its many restaurants. You can find places like The Capital Grille, The Cheesecake Factory, and Bar Louie there. A large hotel, the Renaissance Hotel, is also connected directly to Bay Street. It has 293 rooms and space for meetings.
History of the Plaza
Plans for International Plaza started way back in 1986. A real estate developer named Dick Corbett began working on the idea. Later, his company teamed up with Taubman Cos. The mall was built on a large piece of land, about 150 acres. This land was once part of a golf course!
In 1998, two big stores, Lord & Taylor and Nordstrom, were announced as main stores for the mall. Soon after, Neiman Marcus joined them. Dillard's was the fourth and final main store announced in late 1998. A large office building was also planned around that time. A company called Sordoni Skanska was chosen to build the mall in 1999.
By early 2001, the mall had signed up its first 100 stores. About 65 of these stores were brand new to the Tampa area! A large The Cheesecake Factory restaurant was announced in June 2001. The mall officially opened on September 14, 2001. It was a quiet opening because of a very sad event that happened in the United States just three days before. But even with that, the mall quickly became very popular and successful.
The Lord & Taylor store at the mall closed in July 2004. A furniture store called Robb & Stucky took its place in February 2005. The Renaissance Hotel, which is part of Bay Street, opened in August 2004.
Robb & Stucky closed down in 2011 because of money problems. An upscale fitness gym, LifeTime Athletic, took over that space in 2014. A popular fashion store called H&M also opened at the mall on November 10, 2011.
