Tampa's 'X-factor' is driving sales interest in Pendry hotel-condo tower
By Ashley Gurbal Kritzer
Tampa Bay Business Journal
Published: Feb 3, 2022

Reid Boren has already attempted to develop the last remaining vacant parcel on downtown Tampa's waterfront once — but he's even more bullish on the project the second time around.

Boren is managing partner of Two Roads Development, which is behind the 37-story hotel-condo proposed at Ashley Drive and Brorein Street. Both the hotels and condos will bear the flag of up-and-coming hospitality company Pendry, which is based in San Diego.

In 2018, Two Roads first partnered with Feldman Equities to develop Riverwalk Place, a 52-story tower that was to include condos and office space. Office space was scrapped from the project in late 2018; in early 2020, Feldman exited the deal.

"Tampa has only gotten more and more vibrant," Boren told the Tampa Bay Business Journal. "There’s a feeling now that this is a winning city."

No one, of course, has reserved a $900,000-plus condo in Pendry Tampa just because NFL legend Tom Brady led the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to the Super Bowl. But Brady's two seasons with the Bucs, and the Tampa Bay Lightning's back-to-back Stanley Cup championships are all part of an intangible buzz about the city that Boren credits for driving pre-sales beyond his expectations.

Pendry's commitment to the tower became public in early November. In the last 45 days — before the developer bought any paid advertising — presales totaled about $50 million, with units reserved numbering in the 20s. To get to secure construction financing, Boren said he needs to presell 70 to 75 of the tower's 207 condos. (The tower will also house 220 hotel rooms.)

Moss Construction is the tower's general contractor. Boren said development costs are well in excess of $200 million.

"There's an X-factor to Tampa that you just can't make up," Boren said.

"An X-factor" is one way to summarize Pendry's approach to luxury. Pendry co-founder and Creative Director Michael Fuerstman, in Tampa for a site visit on Thursday, said the flag is design-forward and that his team is looking forward to building a project unlike anything else in the city.

"We're taking on sort of innovative ways to approach what luxury is," Fuerstman said. "Whether it's design and architecture, or through programming or through sort of new experiences."

Fuerstman compared the Tampa location to Baltimore — both turned heads as unusual moves for Pendry, which has locations open or in the works in West Hollywood, Washington, D.C., and Park City, Utah, among other cities.

"It means a little bit more when you create something special in a city that doesn't necessarily have all the things that L.A. and New York have," he said.