CBG Hosts ACE Mentor Program at The Luisa
TAMPA, Fla.—Today, CBG Building Company and repeat client Kettler welcomed nearly 100 Tampa Bay high school students from the ACE Mentor Program of America to tour all three Gasworx parcels under construction in Ybor City, including The Luisa, a future 140-unit mixed-use apartment community being built by CBG. The site tour offered students a behind-the-scenes look at one of Tampa’s largest urban redevelopment efforts while introducing them to career paths in architecture, construction, and engineering.
CBG Hosts ACE Mentor Program at The Luisa
"Opening our jobsites to students is one of the most meaningful ways we can invest in the future of our industry," said Chris Hirst, senior vice president at CBG. "At Gasworx, we showed students the scale, complexity, and collaboration behind a project that will have a lasting positive impact on the city of Tampa. We’re proud to help inspire the next generation of builders in our community."
The Luisa will feature four stories of residential units surrounding a six-level parking garage, along with 18,000 square feet of ground-floor retail and service space. Part of the larger Gasworx redevelopment effort, the community is designed to support the continued evolution of one of Tampa’s oldest neighborhoods as a walkable, connected, mixed-use area.
"This is our opportunity to create the city and the region that we know Tampa and Tampa Bay can be," said Tampa Mayor Jane Castor, who spoke to students about the project during the Saturday morning event.
The ACE Mentor Program helps guide high school students interested in architecture, construction, and engineering through weekly mentorship with industry professionals and annual visits to active construction sites. During the tour, students rotated through stations to hear directly from each project team and learn about the construction process, while Kettler shared the overarching vision behind the large-scale district’s redevelopment. Students have already been invited to return next year to see firsthand how the sites have progressed since their visit. At the end of the event, CBG distributed gift bags to each student.
The Luisa further expands CBG’s growing Tampa-area portfolio, which also includes MAA Breakwater, a 495-unit luxury waterfront community; Legacy Heights, a 240-unit mixed-use community also in Ybor City; The Galvin, a 305-unit mixed-use community; and The Brooke at Rocky Point, a 277-unit luxury mixed-use community.
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About CBG Building Company
CBG Building Company is one of the most experienced, and respected, multifamily builders in the country. Since 1993, CBG has carried forward a 100+-year legacy of innovation, quality, and collaboration to deliver award-winning communities from coast to coast. CBG's professional construction team builds 5,000 homes each year across a diverse portfolio of geographic areas and product types, including P3, luxury, mixed-use, and campus housing, as well as affordable, military, and senior living communities. We draw on the knowledge gained through building more than 128,000 housing units to provide unsurpassed experience, safety, and service to our clients. For more information, visit www.cbgbuildingcompany.com.
About Kettler
KETTLER is an award-winning, multifamily developer, real estate investment, and property management company. Founded in 1977, the company has developed over 25,000 multifamily units, 5 million square feet of commercial space, more than 71,000 homes in 25 master-planned communities, and many of the D.C. Region’s premier mixed-use communities. Headquartered in McLean, Va., the company manages approximately 20,000 apartments in the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, and Southeast regions. For more information, visit www.kettler.com.
About ACE Mentor Program of America
The ACE Mentor Program of America (ACE) is a free, no-cost, after-school mentoring program founded in 1994. It is designed to engage, excite, and enlighten high school students to pursue careers in architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC). Operating across more than 200 cities in the United States, ACE connects students with practicing industry professionals, including architects, engineers, construction managers, and trade experts. Teams mimic real-world design and building project environments, helping students gain hands-on experience, and secure scholarships and internships. For more information, visit www.acementor.org.