Charlotte developer secures $72 million construction loan for waterfront Westshore apartments
By Ashley Gurbal Kritzer
Tampa Bay Business Journal
Published: Mar 17, 2022

One of Tampa Bay's most active multifamily developers is moving forward with a project on the Westshore waterfront.

Crescent Communities, based in Charlotte, paid just over $9.5 million for a vacant parcel in Bay Center, an office park owned by Highwoods Investment Properties. It plans to build a 289-unit, nine-story apartment building on the property. Finfrock Construction is the general contractor, and initial construction costs were pegged at $65 million in building permits filed with the city in late 2021.

Crescent closed on the site and a $72.5 million construction loan from TD Bank on Monday, according to Hillsborough County property records.

The building will carry Crescent's Novel branding; the developer also has built Novel properties in downtown Tampa (Novel Riverwalk, now known as Anchor Riverwalk) and in Midtown Tampa. Crescent's developments, including Novel Riverwalk and the property now known as 2Bayshore, have sold for top-of-market pricing.

When the developer first proposed Novel Beach Park in October 2020, the vision was for larger-than-average units targeting a mix of "maturing professionals and empty nesters."