Skanska has been awarded the contract to build a $57m, 26-acre waterfront park and entertainment venue in downtown Clearwater, near Tampa Bay, Florida. It will provide construction management and risk services.

When finished in 2023 the park will be the centrepiece of Imagine Clearwater, a major waterfront redevelopment designed to attract locals and visitors.

“Imagine Clearwater is a model of how to transform underutilised public spaces into an active city centre waterfront that will better meet the needs of the local community and visitors of all ages,” said Michael C. Brown, executive vice president and general manager responsible for Skanska’s Florida building operations.

The redesigned park will have gardens, a lake, a 4,000-seat covered bandstand and a 4-acre green for audiences.

Skanska’s design partner on this project is Stantec Engineering.

Skanska’s experience in the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater metropolitan area includes the construction of several public space projects, including the new St. Petersburg Pier, Pier Approach and Gateway, Julian B. Lane Riverfront Park and Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park and Kiley Gardens.

Another recent project in the region includes the new University of South Florida Morsani College of Medicine and Heart Institute in downtown Tampa, a 226,000-square-foot research and education facility at Johns Hopkins Medicine All Children’s Hospital in St. Petersburg, and the $122 million renovation and expansion of Tampa International Airport’s main passenger terminal.