Water Street developer takes out $150 million mortgage on JW Marriott
By Ashley Gurbal Kritzer
Tampa Bay Business Journal
Published: Jul 27, 2022

The developer of Water Street Tampa has taken out a $150 million mortgage on the JW Marriott, the 26-story convention hotel that opened in the district in late 2020.

The Prudential Insurance Company of America provided the loan, which closed on July 21, according to Hillsborough County property records.

Developer Strategic Property Partners, controlled by Tampa Bay Lightning owner Jeff Vinik and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates’ Cascade Investment LLC, has taken out nine-figure mortgages on finished towers in the past.

A representative from the developer did not have a comment on the loan on Wednesday.

In March, the developer secured a $180 million mortgage from MetLife Real Estate Funding LLC for Heron, a 420-unit apartment tower with street-level retail that includes a Publix GreenWise Market.

“We’re now at a natural evolution of Water Street Tampa where we’re refinancing our construction loans with long-term, permanent debt,” SPP said of the Heron loan in March.

Water Street is at a critical juncture as SPP plans the second phase of the mixed-use district. The developer has begun dismantling the Ardent Mills flour mill, which it bought in 2018. That property will be home to the district’s second phase and allow for a reconfigured road grid to better connect Water Street to the Channel and central business districts.