Developer closes $136 million construction loan for Ritz-Carlton Residences, Tampa condos
By Ashley Gurbal Kritzer
Tampa Bay Business Journal
Published: Jun 7, 2024

The developer of the Ritz-Carlton Residences, Tampa, has secured a nine-figure construction loan for the second phase of the luxury condos.

Miami-based Related Group closed a $135.9 million construction loan from Chicago-based CIBC Bank USA on June 4, according to Hillsborough County property records. The second phase of the Ritz-Carlton Residences is under construction and will include 94 condos and six townhouse-style villas. The Ritz-Carlton's first phase, which sold out, opened in mid-May to great fanfare.

Many developers struggle to obtain construction financing for large projects with high interest rates and construction costs. But Related Group, helmed by Miami's condo king Jorge Perez, is in the upper echelon of developers with the track record and equity to land a nine-figure loan. In 2022, Related secured a $105.8 million construction loan from Bank OZK for the first phase of the Ritz-Carlton.

Related considers Tampa its second biggest market outside of its home base of Miami. Perez recently told the Tampa Bay Business Journal that he sees opportunity for more luxury condos in Tampa — including on the preschool at Congregation Rodeph Sholom, a synagogue on Bayshore Boulevard. Tampa City Council has twice denied Related's rezoning request to make way for that redevelopment.

"Would I build a 300-unit, super luxury condominium in Tampa? Absolutely not," Perez said in mid-May. "[The Ritz-Carlton] is the right size, 100 units per building. Do I think there's room in Tampa for other properties like this one? The answer is absolutely yes. And we are a market leader."

Since June 2019, 45 mortgages over $100 million have been recorded in Hillsborough County. The majority of those loans are backed by multistate portfolios, though some represent construction financing for recent projects, including the $113 million loan that funded the Arts and Entertainment Residences apartment tower in downtown Tampa. Water Street Tampa developer Strategic Property Partners put debt on several of the district's towers after they were completed, including a $180 million mortgage on apartment tower Heron and a $150 million mortgage on the JW Marriott Tampa Water Street.

In April, developer Kolter Urban secured a $182 million construction loan for Art House, a luxury condo tower in downtown St. Petersburg.