When Tampa officials look at the city's downtown, they apparently dream of Pittsburgh's Fifth and Forbes retail area.

Urban planners in the Florida city have invited former Mayor Tom Murphy to offer advice Friday on revitalizing Tampa's urban core with shops and condominiums -- exactly the things Murphy could not bring Downtown.

"We know of Tom and his history with Fifth and Forbes," said Christine Burdick, president of the Tampa Downtown Partnership. "We want to hear about profiles in courage, and the kind of impact creative thinking can have in a downtown."

During his 12 years in office, Murphy gained a national reputation for a take-no-prisoners style of urban development. A political outcast in Pittsburgh, he remains in demand around the country.

Murphy declined to comment on his new career Tuesday, saying, "I'm a private citizen now, aren't I?"

Working with a Washington, D.C., nonprofit called the Urban Land Institute, Murphy has helped with the recovery of New Orleans and other areas damaged by Hurricane Katrina last summer. His job includes bringing together local and state leaders, and identifying places the nonprofit could help in Mississippi, Alabama and Florida.

At a November conference in New Orleans, Murphy advocated for "tough love," told city leaders their tax structure "stinks" and warned the recovery "won't be pretty," the Times-Picayune reported.

He told the Bring New Orleans Back Commission: "If you do anything bold, 100 people will say you can't do it. But you have to be prepared to say, 'We are moving forward.' Your job is to make things happen," according to the Urban Land Institute.

There's no doubt Murphy can point to major development projects in Pittsburgh: two sports stadiums, the expanded David L. Lawrence Convention Center, Summerset at Frick Park, a neighborhood built atop a slag heap, and Crawford Square, housing that restored the lower Hill District.

Yet, Downtown remains rife with empty buildings owned by the Urban Redevelopment Authority, the city's development agency. Heavily subsidized department stores have left. Development offers remained on the table while the mayor held out for an elusive master developer.

Forty-nine percent of city residents in a Pittsburgh Tribune-Review poll in December gave the former mayor a D grade or worse as he left office. Rumors swirl about a federal investigation into Murphy's administration.

Two months after he left office, progress started on Fifth and Forbes redevelopment. Private developers have begun projects, and Mayor Bob O'Connor has invited others to submit bids.

About 300 people are expected to hear Murphy speak at the Tampa Downtown Partnership's half-day session, called "Elevating the Potential," with registration costs of $60 to $70.

As keynote speaker, Murphy will get an undisclosed honorarium, but Burdick said he's "doing this out of the goodness of his heart."

Tampa's community leaders, she said, need to hear about acting with conviction.

"You definitely knew when Tom Murphy was in office, there was a vision," she said.