Westshore Alliance Board President Ed Ellsasser talks priorities, projects

Over the last 27 years, Ed Ellsasser has built a successful insurance agency in Tampa’s Westshore District as developments like International Plaza and Bay Street and Midtown Tampa built up and reshaped the district.  

As the Westshore Alliance’s new board president, he champions the development and business community’s vision for Westshore to evolve into a thriving mixed-use urban neighborhood.  Midtown Tampa’s success and Westshore’s growing residential base are gradual but significant steps in that direction. More than 15,000 people now live in Westshore, Ellsasser says, and the district has added 3,600 apartments since 2009.  

Ellsasser says Midtown Tampa, with its mix of Class A office buildings, luxury apartments, shops, restaurants, public art, and walkability, is a good example of the type of development the Alliance wants to see.

“Midtown was a huge addition to the district and our city,” he says. “I’m over there all the time, great restaurants and meeting spaces.”

Meanwhile, two large properties in the district have massive redevelopment potential.

WestShore Plaza is “obviously ripe for a similar type of mixed-use development” as Midtown, but on a larger scale, Ellsasser says. The mall property is three times the size of Midtown, has received city zoning approval for a massive mixed-use redevelopment, and is on the market.

Then there are the 113 acres at Hillsborough College’s Dale Mabry campus that the Tampa Bay Rays are eyeing for a future stadium site and mixed-use development. Negotiations are ongoing, and a Rays stadium deal is no sure thing. But the potential is real.

“It’s early, but if you plug the Rays in there and do something mixed-use, you could do a lot with that,” Ellsasser says. “Obviously, the possibility of the Rays coming to the college is exciting for Tampa.”

To help impactful projects move forward and make the vision of a “live-work-play” Westshore a reality, Ellsasser says the Alliance is striving for city land-use policies that promote and facilitate mixed-use development, similar to what is in place for downtown. 

That’s one priority during his term as board president. Here are others.

Priorities, projects

On workdays, Ellsasser drives from his home in South Tampa to the Laurel Street offices of PrimeGroup Insurance, the agency he founded in 1999. On the drive, he sees opportunities to make aesthetic and safety improvements that will make Westshore a better place for residents, workers, and visitors.

“I’ve always felt we can continue to improve the look of the district,” Ellsasser says. “It’s the gateway to the city for people coming from the airport. There’s a lot we have improved over the years and a lot we can continue to improve.”

Ellsasser is actively involved with the Alliance’s public art initiative, which has adorned the district with murals and art-wrapped traffic signal boxes that enhance visual appeal and create a neighborhood feel. This year, the Alliance unveils “Art in the Air,” a banner art installation along Boy Scout Boulevard and a fundraiser for future public art projects. The Alliance is also working to put the sculpture “Kinetic Ring” back on public display after years in storage. They’re collaborating with City of Tampa officials on a plan to install the sculpture in Cypress Point Park this summer.   

The Alliance’s longstanding goal of transforming West Shore Boulevard into a grand boulevard involves aesthetic and safety upgrades. It’s moving ahead this year in conjunction with a resurfacing project along West Shore from Kennedy Boulevard to Spruce Street. Ellsasser says the Alliance is taking over the planting and maintenance of median landscaping and is out to bid for a firm to handle landscape design. The project also includes median cut-throughs and crosswalks for pedestrian safety. 

The massive I-275 Westshore interchange project is also underway. Ellsasser says the project will help improve local traffic circulation by reconnecting local roadways at Reo Street, Occident Street, and Trask Street.

Talking about transportation, Ellsasser says the Alliance is currently working on its 10-year mobility plan focused on “how to connect” various modes of transportation, different areas of Westshore and Tampa, and the major transportation projects underway or planned.  It will look at how to get people from Tampa International Airport to a proposed Westshore multimodal center, how to get them to and from downtown in a safe, timely manner, and how to connect to a potential Brightline high-speed rail station. 

Hoosier, volunteer

Before moving to the Tampa area more than 30 years ago, Ellsasser grew up in Indiana and graduated Indiana University. At the start of 2026, he followed his alma mater’s team on its march through the College Football Playoff to a “once every hundred years” national championship.

He’s also served as a board member and volunteered with a slew of local nonprofits and programs over the years. Through Hillsborough Education Foundation’s CEOs in Schools program, Ellsasser and PrimeGroup Insurance adopted West Tampa Elementary. Their efforts to support the Title 1 school include campus public art projects, helping launch a PTA, donating books and computers to the library, and sponsoring teacher appreciation lunches.

“My mom taught me when I was young to volunteer and give back, and I’ve tried to do that with my kids as well,” Ellsasser says. “The more I’ve grown my business, the more I can give back to the community. My staff has also gotten a lot younger over the last couple of years. The more I can get them involved, the better, because a lot of young people want to give back, but they don’t know how to do it.”

For more information, go to Westshore District