Miami company closes on $11.81 million deal for prime tract on Tampa end of Candy Bridge

TAMPA — Redevelopment of a prime but long-vacant waterfront site in South Tampa got a major boost this week.

Miami-based Related Group closed Friday on its $11.81 million purchase of a 8.5 acre tract in the 52-acre master planned community Westshore Marina District. Related previously announced plans for a 396-unit luxury apartment complex on the site at the Tampa end of the Gandy Bridge.

The master developer, BTI Partners of Fort Lauderdale, “couldn’t be happier to have a partner like Related Group, which has successfully revitalized waterfront communities across Florida,” said Beck Daniel, a BTI executive vice president. “This is the first of many diverse offerings for the Westshore Marina District and hopefully the first in along line of transformational projects for BTI in the Tampa Bay area.”

BTI, which acquired the 52 acres after the grandiose New Port Tampa project collapsed during the recession, has designed the site to include a 200-room hotel, retail and office space, up to 1,750 residential units, 185 to 240 marina slips and a 1.5 mile waterfront park.

Related Group, the first company to close on a tract in the district, expects to start construction of the apartments next February and start leasing in August 2018.

Contact Susan Taylor Martin at smartin@tampabay.com or (727) 893-8642. Follow @susanskate