A Marriott Moxy Hotel is headed to the Heights in Tampa

TAMPA — Marriott International will bring its Moxy Hotel brand to the Heights, the 50-acre riverfront district anchored by the Armature Works, developers said Tuesday.

Plans call for a 153-room Moxy Hotel on the first seven floors of a new 25-story tower planned two blocks east of the Armature Works. Construction is expected to start in early 2020, with the hotel projected to open in 2022.

“A perfect fit for the Heights,” Heights co-developer Chas Bruck said in an announcement. "We’re confident this hotel will become a hit with locals and visitors who crave a unique hotel experience the Tampa Bay area.”

The character of the Moxy Hotel will be defined in part by its use of technology and art, developers said. Guests will be able to park in the hotel’s garage, check into their rooms and unlock their doors with their mobile phones. The Moxy Blank Canvas program will bring the work of emerging artists to the property.

Marriott has been drawn to the Heights by its evolution as a trendy place to live, work and play, an executive said. The Armature Works, with a food hall, restaurants, event center and co-working space, opened in early 2018, followed by the 314 apartments of the Pearl. Construction is underway on the Heights Union, a 342,000-square-foot office building.

“The development of Armature Works is a great example of the edgy vibe of the neighborhood," Marriott lodging development for Florida vice president Tim Sponsler said in a statement released through developers. The Moxy Hotel, he said, is a good fit "with the overall vibrant lifestyle experience of the Heights District.”

The tower is planned on the block bounded by W Oak and Seventh avenues on the north and south, and N Highland Avenue and N Tampa Street on the west and east.

The floors above the hotel will include nearly 300 apartments with their own lobby separate from the hotel. The tower also will include 5,000 square feet of retail space. It will be served by a 1,500-space parking garage, which will have another 9,000 square feet of retail space, that’s expected to open on the same block in late 2020.