HCP Associates’ relationship with Ybor City began with research.
Ybor City Development Corporation (YCDC)
Public Sector / Economic Development
Economic Development / Community Redevelopment
Residents • Workers • Business & Property Owners • Visitors • Developers & Investors • Community Leaders
City of Tampa • Community Advisory Committee (CAC) • Barrio Latino Commission • Ybor City Chamber of Commerce • Visit Tampa Bay • Hillsborough Community College (HCC) • Ybor Environmental Services (YES) Team
MarCom Honorable Mention – Heart of Tampa
Florida Redevelopment Association Roy F. Kenzie Award – More in Ybor
PRSA Sunshine District Radiance Award – More in Ybor
HCP Associates’ relationship with Ybor City began with research.
In 2016, HCP was selected as marketing and communications firm of record and launched a comprehensive Resident and Worker Study involving more than 700 participants. The research established benchmarks for quality of life, perceptions, community assets, barriers to redevelopment, and the priorities of the people who lived and worked in the district.
Those insights became the foundation for a much broader engagement spanning research, strategy, economic development, branding, public information, community engagement, stakeholder partnerships, and integrated communications.
The result has been a nearly decade-long partnership in which research continues to inform decisions, public input helps shape priorities, partnerships broaden community buy-in, and HCP helps the Ybor City Development Corporation disseminate information and tell a broader story about what it means to live, work, invest, and experience one of Tampa’s most historic neighborhoods.
Ybor City Development Corporation
Every community redevelopment initiative begins with understanding the people who experience the community every day.
When HCP began working with Ybor City, the district was already one of Tampa’s most recognizable destinations. Its cigar-making heritage, historic architecture, restaurants, and nightlife had created an identity known throughout the region.
But Ybor was changing.
New residents, entrepreneurs, technology companies, restaurants, retailers, and developers were discovering the district, while long-held perceptions continued to define Ybor primarily as an entertainment destination.
Before developing campaigns or creative concepts, HCP needed to understand that disconnect.
What did residents and workers value most? What discouraged people from living or investing there? What improvements mattered? And how did the people who knew Ybor best define its future?
Understanding those perspectives became the foundation for everything that followed.
Research was never intended to be a one-time exercise.
HCP’s initial Resident and Worker Study engaged more than 700 participants and established a baseline for understanding quality of life, satisfaction, community assets, redevelopment priorities, and barriers to residential and commercial growth.
The research identified priorities involving safety, walkability, parking, retail, and quality of life while reinforcing Ybor City’s greatest assets: its history, diversity, architecture, food and beverage offerings, and walkable urban character.
HCP continued the research biennially, creating longitudinal data that allows YCDC and the CRA to understand how perceptions and priorities change over time.
The findings have helped surface priorities and community-driven improvements involving pedestrian-friendly crosswalks, green spaces, lighting, new residential development, retail, and the Ybor Environmental Services (YES) Team, which supports cleanliness, safety, and hospitality throughout the district.
When COVID-19 disrupted Ybor City’s businesses and workforce, the research evolved with the community. HCP conducted a Small Business and Worker Study involving 110 participants, including 72 business owners and 38 workers, providing the CRA with timely insight into the pandemic’s economic impact and the needs of the district.
The most recent Resident and Worker Study continues that work, examining retail priorities and perceptions, safety and cleanliness, mobility and parking, awareness of CRA programs, and opportunities for continued public input and community engagement.
Research didn’t simply tell HCP what to communicate. It helped Ybor City understand where to focus.
The research revealed an important challenge.
Ybor City possessed many of the characteristics people increasingly wanted from an urban neighborhood: authenticity, history, architecture, walkability, restaurants, entertainment, diversity, and proximity to downtown Tampa.
Yet perceptions outside the district often reduced Ybor to nightlife.
The strategy wasn’t to change Ybor City’s identity. It was to expand it.
That thinking led to the creative platform More in Ybor, a strategic communications platform designed to reposition the district as more than an entertainment destination and showcase its growing residential, commercial, and economic-development opportunities.
The platform spoke to residents and visitors while intentionally reaching developers, entrepreneurs, corporate executives, prospective residents, businesses, property owners, and economic development stakeholders.
Just as important as developing the message was building the network that could help carry it.
HCP worked across Ybor City’s business, tourism, education, real estate, property-owner, and community ecosystem to build support and stakeholder buy-in. Partnerships with the Ybor City Chamber of Commerce, Visit Tampa Bay, Hillsborough Community College, property owners, real estate interests, and community organizations helped extend the message beyond traditional communications channels and encouraged stakeholders to become advocates for the district’s evolving story.
That collaborative approach also created new ways to tell Ybor City’s story. Through a partnership with Hillsborough Community College, HCP engaged students to develop a stakeholder-focused video series, bringing community voices directly into the communications effort and producing award-winning work.
The strategy was not simply to communicate to the community. It was to engage the community, provide opportunities for public input, build support, and give stakeholders a role in communicating Ybor City’s story.
Rather than inventing a new story for Ybor City, HCP used research to uncover a larger one already taking shape.
More in Ybor became the foundation of an integrated public information and community engagement program designed to disseminate information, broaden participation, and help stakeholders understand the district’s evolving economic-development story.
HCP developed a new website, economic-development materials, social media content, public relations, annual photo contests, a leadership video series, and quarterly electronic and print communications. Together, these channels provided consistent ways to disseminate information to residents, workers, businesses, property owners, visitors, and community stakeholders while supporting public input, community engagement, and public education.
During the first eight months of the engagement, social media engagement increased 121%, positive comments increased 300%, and relevant post shares increased 23%.
A summer campaign tripled the previous year’s reach while using a 50% smaller budget.
The campaign earned statewide and industry recognition, including the Florida Redevelopment Association Roy F. Kenzie Award and PRSA Sunshine District Radiance Award for More in Ybor.
As Ybor City continued to evolve, so did the work.
When the City of Tampa introduced a unified Tampa CRA identity, HCP helped transition Ybor City into the broader brand without losing the district’s distinctive character. The Ybor City CRA portal was redesigned, FLASH communications were refreshed, The Legend newsletter was redesigned, and social channels were transitioned to create greater consistency across CRA communications.
What began as a research assignment had evolved into a long-term economic development and strategic communications partnership grounded in research, public information, community engagement, and stakeholder collaboration.
Established an ongoing Resident and Worker Study that continues to inform redevelopment priorities nearly a decade after the initial research.
Engaged more than 700 participants in the foundational study, establishing benchmarks for understanding the district and its community.
Helped identify priorities involving safety, walkability, parking, retail, greenspace, lighting, residential development, and cleanliness.
Created More in Ybor, expanding perceptions of the district beyond nightlife and entertainment.
Increased social media engagement 121% during the first eight months of the engagement.
Increased positive comments 300% and relevant post shares 23%.
Tripled campaign reach while operating with a 50% smaller budget.
Supported communications during a period in which 30+ new businesses and developments opened throughout the district.
Provided rapid-response research during COVID-19 to understand the experiences of 72 business owners and 38 workers.
Helped transition Ybor City communications into the unified Tampa CRA identity while preserving the district’s individual character.
Continued research has helped keep community priorities at the forefront as the CRA advances major district investments involving historic 7th Avenue, streetscape, lighting, mobility, safety, and the public realm.
Earned multiple industry honors for HCP’s work with Ybor City, including recognition from the Florida Redevelopment Association, PRSA Sunshine District, and MarCom Awards.
Built stakeholder partnerships across business, tourism, education, real estate, property-owner, and community networks to strengthen buy-in and expand the reach of Ybor City’s economic-development message.
Partnered with Hillsborough Community College to engage students in an award-winning stakeholder video series.
Supported the dissemination of public information, public input, and ongoing community engagement around CRA priorities, programs, and district investments.
The most effective community strategies don’t begin with assumptions; they begin by listening.
For Ybor City, that has meant returning to residents, workers, businesses, property owners, and community stakeholders again and again to understand how their priorities, perceptions, and experiences change as the district evolves.
Nearly a decade of research has provided something more valuable than a snapshot. It has created an ongoing conversation between the community and the people responsible for helping shape its future, while partnerships across the district have helped turn stakeholders into advocates for Ybor City’s continued evolution.
By combining research, strategic planning, public information, community engagement, stakeholder partnerships, and integrated communications, HCP helped transform insight into action and broaden the story of Ybor City without losing sight of the history and authenticity that make the district unlike anywhere else.
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