Original developer of 52-story Riverwalk Place in downtown Tampa exits the deal
By Ashley Gurbal Kritzer
Tampa Bay Business Journal
Published: Mar 10, 2020

Larry Feldman, the developer behind the original pioneering vision for Riverwalk Place in downtown Tampa, has parted ways with the project.

Feldman and Two Roads on Tuesday said that they had reached "amicable terms" for Feldman's exit from the proposed Riverwalk Place condo tower. Two Roads, based in South Florida, is now the sole developer of the tower.

GPB Capital is now an equity participant in the deal.

“We wish the Two Roads team the best on their future endeavor on the site. This is a great piece of land and its potential is limitless,” Feldman said in a statement. “Nonetheless, honest business disagreements sometimes mean it is best for partners to split off and pursue their own projects. This is one of those times.”

Two Roads did not disclose any updates on the tower, such as how many units are reserved or when construction might begin. The tower's social media channels proclaimed that it had $90 million in reservations in May 2019.

“We simply would not be here today without the Feldman team’s tireless efforts assembling the land and laying the groundwork over the past few years,” said Two Roads Managing Partner Taylor Collins. “Tampa’s market is attracting interest from across the country and demand is growing for luxury condominiums in the downtown. We are excited to present a renewed vision for the site.”

Feldman's exit from the deal is not entirely unexpected; it has been rumored in commercial real estate circles for months. The developers stopped pre-selling the condominiums in mid-2019, saying they were redesigning the floor plans for the units.

When Riverwalk Place was first proposed in July 2015, it was a true mixed-use building, with 14 floors of office space stacked above a seven-story parking garage. Luxury condos were to begin on the 23rd floor.

Feldman's expertise is office space; he is a New York real estate investor who originally entered the Tampa Bay market to snap up post-recession deals. In late 2018, Feldman and Two Roads said they were scrapping plans to include office space in the tower and would devote the tower entirely to condos.

The Riverwalk site was long known as the Trump Tower site, after a Trump-licensed condo tower was pitched for the property in 2005. Those plans ultimately crashed along with the real estate market, and Tampa's Trump Tower never came to fruition.

Feldman and his longtime partners at Tower Realty paid $12.5 million for the land and adjacent CapTrust building in late 2015. It sits directly on the Riverwalk at Ashley Drive and Brorein streets. It is the last remaining undeveloped parcel of waterfront land in downtown Tampa.

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Riverwalk Place quickly became a passion project for Feldman. He engaged a Shanghai architect to design the tower and was committed to an iconic structure that would "change the Tampa skyline."

"I can’t just use those words and not deliver," Feldman told the Tampa Bay Business Journal in 2016. "That would really be a letdown."

As critical to Feldman's original vision as the office space and condos was activating the Tampa Riverwalk with a lively restaurant. Riverwalk Place is expected to include green space, with plans to merge the condo site with MacDill Park and the Riverwalk itself, becoming an entry point to the Riverwalk.

"The cool factor of the restaurants and Riverwalk widening and the outdoor seating — those things remain unchanged," Feldman told the Business Journal in 2018, after announcing that the tower would no longer include office space.

Two Roads is the second residential developer to pursue Riverwalk Place with Feldman. The original residential developer in the project, Tampa-based InTown Group, sued Feldman in 2017, alleging breach of contract and accusing Feldman of trying to take over the residential portion of the project.