Water Street Tampa’s first luxury condos hit market, starting at $2 million

A crop of luxury condos in a forthcoming Water Street Tampa hotel has officially hit the market, with prices starting at $2 million.

The Residences at the Tampa Edition opened a sales gallery in late November at Sparkman Wharf, part of the $3.5 billion housing, office and retail district under development in Tampa’s Channel District, giving curious customers a first look at the digs.

Listing agents with Smith and Associates have quietly marketed the condos to select clients for nearly a year, said Bob Glaser, the firm’s president and CEO. The opening of the sales gallery essentially made the offerings public.

“Now with just about anybody coming in, we can skip over the reservation period, and be able to talk about move-in dates and actually go straight to contract with them,” Glaser said.

It won’t happen for some time. The five-star Edition, a partnership between Marriott International and renowned hotelier Ian Schrager, was originally scheduled to open in spring 2021, but delays related to the coronavirus pandemic have pushed that to late next year.

“We were hoping that Ian Schrager would cut a ribbon, and we would all be there drinking champagne, but COVID changed that, of course,” Glaser said. “So it’s been a very slow, quiet, considerate opening.”

The Residences encompass 37 homes starting on the 10th floor of the 26-story, 172-room Edition hotel, which is slated to top out in January.

The condos feature such amenities as wine refrigerators, white marble countertops and sound-muffling floors, walls and windows, as well as wraparound terraces with views of downtown Tampa and the water. Residents will share access to a private fitness center, social kitchen and lounge for gatherings, access to the Edition’s rooftop pool, and “priority access and reservations” at the hotel’s restaurants.

“It’s a full lifestyle,” Glaser said. “It’s got great chefs in the restaurants. The pool’s got the pertinent structures next to it, and services. In the lobby, whether it’s on the hotel or the condominium side, you’ve got concierge service and valet, and a little more high-level service than you would at a typical five-star condominium.”

Condos will range from $2 million to $8 million, Glaser said. Most will share floors with hotel rooms and a few other condos — the Residences will have their own entrance — but there will be single-floor penthouse units, too.

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The Residences won’t be the first living spaces to come online in Water Street Tampa. Developer Strategic Property Partners has said Heron, a 420-unit apartment tower at 815 Water Street, will be move-in-ready by March. A spokeswoman for the developer said Heron units would be available for pre-leasing this month, but declined to provide price ranges.

A 388-unit residential tower at 1011 E Cumberland Ave. is also slated to arrive in late 2021, with a 497-unit tower at 1050 Water St. on track for spring 2022.

Strategic Property Planners has not detailed future residential projects, but Glaser said that if they do, “we would hope to be a part of that.”

“With the shortage of housing that we’ve seen in ’20, and can see coming in ’21 also, there’s people on standby,” Glaser said.

Based on the prospects Smith and Associates has shown homes to so far, Glaser believes the tower could spur business activity in Water Street Tampa. Lightning owner Jeff Vinik, the project’s primary local backer, has for years hoped to lure a major corporate hub or headquarters to the district.

“From my experience, when you’re doing these luxury buildings, generally, that attracts a CEO or somebody that’s a decision maker,” he said. “Edition will be one of the properties to attract those type of individuals. That will lead into commercial development.”

In the short term, the Edition’s sister hotel in Water Street Tampa, the JW Marriott next to Amalie Arena, will open this month. It is taking guest reservations and will serve as a makeshift practice facility for the NBA’s Toronto Raptors, who will open this season in Tampa.

The Edition may be a year away, but Glaser said that just gives the homes more time to sell.

“There’s a very good chance during that whole construction process, the building will be a home run, and there will be nothing available,” he said.

Clarification: Apartments at Heron will become available for pre-leasing, not sale, starting this month. This story has been updated to reflect that.