Water Street's final tower in first phase will be apartment-hotel hybrid
By Ashley Gurbal Kritzer
Tampa Bay Business Journal
Published: Dec 2, 2021

The final tower in Water Street Tampa's first phase will offer both apartments and hotel units under one roof.

The tower at 1050 Water St. — which developer Strategic Property Partners said Thursday has been named Asher — has 490 units, 97 of which will operate as hotel rooms under the Roost brand. The hotel units, on the first six residential floors, will range in size from studios to one- and two-bedroom units. Those units are aimed at extended-stay guests and are furnished with fully equipped kitchens, SPP said.

SPP is controlled by Tampa Bay Lightning owner Jeff Vinik and Cascade Investment Fund LLC, the investment fund of Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates.

The units on the tower's top 15 floors will operate as traditional apartments. Asher has the largest pool deck in Water Street Tampa, SPP said.

Roost apartment-hotel flags are a brand from Method Co., which bills the hotel rooms as "all the services and amenities of a boutique hotel in the comfort of your own space." There are Roost apartment-hotels in Philadelphia, Charleston, South Carolina, Detroit and Cleveland.

An apartment-hotel hybrid tower is a new concept for Tampa. Water Street's Edition will include boutique hotel rooms and branded condominiums, as will The Pendry, proposed along the Tampa Riverwalk.

Method Co. will operate the hotel as well as the amenities, including a 24-hour concierge service. Hotel guests and apartment residents will have access to the same amenities. SPP has tapped ZRS Management to operate Asher's apartments.

“Renters today appreciate having a wide range of lifestyle options to choose from, and Asher caters to this trend by offering several residential experiences in one place,” Lee Schaffler, SPP's chief portfolio officer, said in a statement. “Our partnership with Method Co., coupled with Asher’s hospitality-level amenities and services, and the perks of living in the heart of the Water Street Tampa neighborhood add up to an unparalleled residential experience in Tampa.”