Clearwater Offers AR Views of Future City Centre Projects
The City of Clearwater has partnered with the Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council to make a free augmented reality experience available through the inCitu platform. Residents and visitors can use a smartphone camera to view 3D models of future developments where construction is taking place. No app download is required. The experience covers three downtown projects: The Ballad Hotel, a development at 150 S. Osceola Ave. and the Osceola Parking Garage.
Augmented reality places digital models within the real-world view captured by a phone’s camera. Unlike conventional architectural renderings, users can view the models in the surroundings where the developments are being built. This places each proposed building within its existing setting rather than presenting its design as a standalone image. The experience is intended to help residents and visitors understand how each project will fit into downtown Clearwater when construction is complete. It also provides a way to visualise changes taking place as building work continues across the city centre.
The Ballad Hotel is located at 50 N. Osceola Ave., near Coachman Park. The 10-storey hotel is planned to include 158 guest rooms and ground-floor retail space. The inCitu experience at the construction site offers a model that lets people view a digital representation of the completed building in its surrounding environment.
The development at 150 S. Osceola Ave. is a 28-storey mixed-use luxury apartment project. Plans include about 400 residences, plus retail space and parking. It is one of the three developments included in the augmented reality platform, which displays the planned building through a smartphone camera rather than as a separate architectural image.
The Osceola Parking Garage, at 155 S. Osceola Ave., is a new downtown parking facility planned to provide 397 spaces. The project also includes city-owned commercial space on the ground floor for lease. The platform includes it so users can view a model of the parking development alongside the two other projects covered by the experience.
The three developments form part of ongoing public and private investment in downtown Clearwater. The projects combine plans for residential accommodation, businesses, hospitality, and parking options. Through its partnership with the Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council, the city is making the developments easier for the community to explore and providing a way to visualise the investments taking place as downtown changes.
The models can be accessed at the construction sites by finding an inCitu poster displayed on the fencing. Users can open a smartphone camera app and scan the QR code printed on the poster. The code links to the inCitu platform, where users can view the completed development as a three-dimensional model through their phone’s camera. The process requires no app download, and the experience is free to use.
People who cannot visit downtown can also explore the projects remotely through the inCitu interactive platform. The remote option gives access to the same project models without requiring a visit to any construction site.
