Tampa Bay area architects are optimistic about the outlook for west-central Florida real estate development in 2025, but that is tempered by concerns about higher costs, possible tariffs and the impacts of 2024’s hurricanes.

That was the upshot from AIA Tampa Bay’s annual Voice of Architecture survey. Each year, AIA Tampa Bay asks its member architects about the future: They are uniquely suited to weigh in because they get involved so early in development projects.

Tied to the survey, which was covered in the St. Pete Catalyst (https://lnkd.in/ezJCC7YW) and the Business Observer (https://lnkd.in/eHX5Q8e8), AIA holds a panel discussion each year about the results. I’ve been pleased to moderate the discussion for a number of years, and we had an excellent panel of real estate experts at last week’s event – Katie Cole of Hill Ward Henderson, Will Conroy of Backstreets Capital, Jason Jensen of WJ Architects, and Toby Manulak of Moss.