New York developer buys apartment site in downtown Tampa for $19.75 million
By Ashley Gurbal Kritzer
Tampa Bay Business Journal
Published: May 12, 2022

A New York developer has paid $19.75 million for less than an acre in downtown Tampa, where it plans to build hundreds of apartments.

Silverstein Properties has acquired the .78-acre site at 505 E. Tyler St. from South Florida-based 1754 Properties and its partner Triangle Capital, which acquired the vacant lot as part of its acquisition of the Floridan Palace Hotel.

The tower Silverstein is planning at the site will have 430 apartments, 15,000 square feet of retail space and 600 parking spaces. The developer announced the acquisition on Thursday; the sale closed May 6, according to a Hillsborough County deed filed Wednesday.

Silverstein said it will serve as the lead developer on the project. Silverstein and Cantor Fitzgerald LP acquired the property through their Cantor Silverstein Opportunity Zone Trust Inc. (CSOZ Trust), a qualified opportunity fund.

The developer did not reveal a time frame for its plans. The multifamily real estate market in downtown Tampa has never been hotter; earlier this week, an apartment tower just two blocks from Silverstein's development site sold for $184 million.

“With this latest acquisition and planned development, we are continuing to extend our acquisitions and development reach around the country and geographically diversify our portfolio,” Marty Burger, CEO of Silverstein Properties, said in a statement.

Triangle Capital and 1754 Properties acquired the Floridan Palace and the development site in October 2021 and are spending $20 million renovating the property.

“We look forward to the accelerated development of the NoDo neighborhood and believe it will be anchored by the high-quality hotel, restaurant and bar offerings at the Floridan Palace Hotel, which will be renovated at a cost of more than $20 million,” Joe Smith, CEO of 1754 Properties, said in a statement.