A new way of doing business could bring more construction jobs to Tampa.

On Wednesday, Mayor Bob Buckhorn unveiled the city's Development Services Center. The three-floor building, off of North Boulevard, houses several city departments in hopes of making the permitting process easier for contractors and developers.

"This is a good thing," Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn said. "It will transform the culture in this community; it will make us more competitive. People will want to come here and do business with us."

In the past, developers say, Tampa has had an ugly reputation when it comes to development.

"They had a reputation that it was not easy to put a shovel in the ground," said Debra Koehler, President of Sage Partners.

When Koehler started her Tampa-based company, she chose to renovate a building in St. Petersburg.

"We knew we could get through St. Petersburg quicker than Tampa," she said.

Since then, Koehler has developed affordable housing in downtown Tampa. Her perseverance brought construction jobs and money to Tampa.

Mayor Buckhorn is hoping the city's Development Services Center will entice more developers to do business with Tampa as well.