Miami's Related Group will bring market-rate apartments, Publix to West River redevelopment
By Ashley Gurbal Kritzer
Tampa Bay Business Journal
Published: Dec 2, 2020

The master developer of the West River project is moving forward with a new phase — one that will bring market-rate apartments and a Publix Super Markets Inc. store to the urban neighborhood.

Miami-based Related Group is planning to build the 325-unit Manor West River on the vacant acreage across North Boulevard from Howard W. Blake High School. Related is partnering with a retail developer to build the Publix store, which will include surface parking, said Jon Paul "JP" Perez, Related president.

That project will have a Publix and workforce housing and have some more upscale housing with views of the water," Jorge Perez, chairman and CEO of Related, told the Tampa Bay Business Journal in an exclusive interview.

A spokeswoman for Publix did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday.

The West Tampa area is ripe for revitalization, and Related's addition of a Publix store to the West River district will be a catalyst for future growth. The neighborhood is sandwiched between Tampa Heights, where home values have risen astronomically since Armature Works and The Heights district opened in 2018, and Midtown Tampa, a mixed-use district set to open at Interstate 275 and North Dale Mabry Highway in early 2021.

Manor is the mid-tier level of Related's three rental brands; its renters typically have a household income between $75,000 and $100,000. Related redeveloped the former Tampa Tribune headquarters in downtown Tampa to make way for its first Manor property in the area, Manor Riverwalk, in 2018.

Tampa Housing Authority selected a joint venture between The Related Group and The Urban Development Group to serve as master developer of the West River in 2016. The West River redevelopment is a $350 million project, spanning nearly 200 acres known as the West River area of Tampa’s Center City — north of Interstate 275, south of Columbus Drive and west from Hillsborough River to Rome Avenue. At completion, it will include 1,636 mixed-income residential units and more than 177,000 square feet of commercial space.

Until now, much of the focus within the West River district has been on affordable housing, between the renovation of the Mary Bethune apartments and The Renaissance at West River, a 160-unit senior community. In early 2020, construction began on the first mixed-income buildings within the district.

The city has also invested heavily in the surrounding area, hoping to spur investment from the private sector. In 2018, the $35 million Julian B. Lane Riverfront Park opened just south of the West River district, and there's more development to come: The city is seeking development proposals for the Rome Yard, an 18-acre site that is south of Columbus Drive and north of Spruce Street.