Developer plans 39-story condo-hotel near Water Street Tampa
By Ashley Gurbal Kritzer
Tampa Bay Business Journal
Published: May 31, 2024

A development group that has built multiple hotel-condo projects on Tampa Bay's beaches has set its sights on Tampa's urban core.

ARC Realty Group, based in Clearwater, plans to build a 39-story hotel-condo tower, Ora Hotel and Residences at 1107 E. Jackson St.

Luigi Novembre, vice president of real estate development and sales at ARC, told the Tampa Bay Business Journal that ARC will close on the site in phases, with one parcel closing in June and two others to close in November 2025. ARC has "sizable" nonrefundable deposits on all parcels, Novembre said. Novembre's firm is also behind The Avalon on Clearwater Beach and Ocean Club Treasure Island. He is also a partner in Sunset Point Residences in Clearwater.

Adache Group Architects of Fort Lauderdale is the architect on the project. Novembre said the developers have hired Kast Construction for pre-construction work on the project.

The site, at the intersection of East Jackson Street and North Meridian Avenue, is north of the former Ardent Mills flour mill. Novembre said his team sees an opportunity in that area as Water Street Tampa, a multibillion-dollar mixed-use district, expands northward.

"We’re really excited about working in this area and being part of the growth," he said. "We see the future of this city."

Novembre said the $600 million Ora project will be funded through his and his partners' personal money. Ora will include 622 units, 31 of which are private residences on the top four floors. Floors 17 to 35 will be hotel-condo units available for purchase, and the remaining floors will be hotel rooms. The tower's amenities include a signature restaurant, 10,000 square feet of convention space, a lobby bar and café, a fitness center, and a rooftop deck with an infinity edge pool, spa tub, DJ stand with a large outdoor TV, and a bar and restaurant. The tower will also have a helipad, the developers said.

Rising interest and insurance rates and materials costs have made it difficult for most developers to access construction financing. But Novembre says that won't be an issue for Ora's developers.

The team has applied for building permits to construct a sales center for Ora 1101 E. Jackson St., in what is currently an attorney's office. Presales will begin in November.

"We are well-capitalized," he said, "and therefore, we do not plan on using riskier equity and debt options that get a lot of developers into trouble."