As Tower II approaches sellout, the designers and developers behind Tampa’s first branded condominium reflect on what it took to redefine luxury on Bayshore Drive.
As Tower II approaches sellout, the designers and developers behind Tampa’s first branded condominium reflect on what it took to redefine luxury on Bayshore Drive.
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There’s a moment in a city’s life when the buildings start arriving faster than the reputation can keep up. Miami’s downtown went through it. So did the Wynwood blocks before the galleries came. Tampa feels like it’s in that moment now—and most people haven’t caught up yet.
For The Ritz-Carlton Residences, Tampa’s Tower II, that moment happens in the living room.
Oxford Design Studio, the Tampa-based firm behind the newly unveiled model, created two seating arrangements there. One faces the floor-to-ceiling windows, oriented toward the sweep of Hillsborough Bay. The other centers around a built-in media console, intimate and inward-facing. It’s a small gesture, but it reveals everything about how the firm approaches its work.
“A model needs to inspire buyers, but still feel relatable,” say Jordan Winston and Tate Casper, principals and co-founders of Oxford Design. “It creates flexibility for a homeowner, offering spaces both for entertaining and everyday relaxation.”
That balance—between aspiration and reality, between a stage and a home—has defined this project from the beginning. And as Tower II approaches sellout, with only a handful of residences remaining, the team behind it reflects on what it took to put Tampa’s ultra-luxury market on the map.
When Related Group first conceived The Ritz-Carlton Residences, Tampa, they weren’t just building condominiums. They were introducing a new category to the city: the branded residence.
“Bringing The Ritz-Carlton Residences to Tampa marked a major milestone for the city as its first branded condominium,” says Nick Pérez, President of Related Group’s Condominium Division. “It changed the conversation around what true luxury living could look like in this market.”
The architecture, by Arquitectonica, established the bones: 94 condominiums and five exclusive villas spread across a tower along iconic Bayshore Drive. Interiors by Meyer Davis set a sophisticated baseline. But it was the model residence—the physical, walkable expression of the promise—that would need to convince buyers to take the leap.
Oxford Design approached the four-bedroom layout the way one might approach a traditional estate. “There’s a clear sense of arrival with the foyer, expansive living spaces, and a private primary suite that feels like its own wing,” Winston and Casper explain. “The goal was to make the residence feel less like an apartment and more like a single-family home elevated into the skyline.”
The result is what Pérez calls “mansions in the sky”—residences with the scale and flow of a ground-up estate, with wraparound terraces capturing views of Hillsborough Bay and the Tampa skyline in every direction.
“The goal was to make the residence feel less like an apartment and more like a single-family home elevated into the skyline.”
Being based in Tampa gave Oxford Design an advantage that no out-of-town firm could replicate: they understood the buyer before they ever walked through the door.
“We are very aware that many buyers are looking for a primary residence, not a vacation-style home,” Winston and Casper note. This insight shaped every decision. Rather than leaning into overt coastal themes—the shells and seafoam palettes that might tempt a designer in Miami—they gravitated toward timeless, traditional interiors that feel grounded.
The photos stopped me. In a market that has spent the better part of a decade worshipping at the altar of beige minimalism, Oxford Design went somewhere else entirely—somewhere that felt, if I had to place it, like Palm Beach had crossed the state to see what the Gulf Coast was doing. Dark mahogany. White walls. Rattan with a little history in it. Blue-and-white ceramics that feel less like accessories and more like artifacts. It’s a British colonial tropical aesthetic—maximalist, layered, rooted in the visual grammar of the Gulf and the Caribbean—and it is a quiet act of defiance against everything trending right now. It knows exactly what it is.
This approach resonates with the buyers Pérez has watched flow through the building. “Today’s buyers are sophisticated and intentional,” he says. “They’re seeking a best-in-class lifestyle combined with vibrant culture, without any sacrifices on prime waterfront location.”
Many are local downsizers, trading estate maintenance for full-service luxury. Others are relocating from the Midwest and Northeast, drawn by Tampa’s growing job market and something harder to quantify: the sense that the city is still becoming itself. What unites them is a shared priority: experience over address.
“Across the board, they’re prioritizing experience as much as the residence itself,” Pérez explains. “Seeking curated services, five-star amenities, and homes designed to support how they live day to day.”
Creating a model residence for a project that has already made history—Tower II’s penthouse sold pre-construction for $11.6 million, a Tampa record at the time—requires a particular kind of finesse. The unit needs to inspire buyers who are already sophisticated enough to be shopping at this level. It needs to feel luxurious without feeling like a set. And it needs to translate the promise of renderings into the reality of texture, light, and proportion.
For Oxford Design, the key was layering. Comfortable furniture layouts that invite lingering. Textures that reward touch. Accessories that suggest a life being lived, not a photo shoot being staged.
The living room, with its dual seating zones, exemplifies this thinking. One arrangement celebrates the view—the reason anyone buys here. The other acknowledges that even in a home with million-dollar sightlines, sometimes you want to watch a movie with your back to the window.
This kind of nuance is what separates a house from a home. And it’s what Pérez believes will define Tampa’s luxury market for years to come.
“Having watched Tampa grow over the past couple decades, I think the luxury market will continue to mature,” he reflects. “Demand for branded residences is only going to rise, and projects like this play a key role in shaping expectations for what defines a true luxury lifestyle.”
As Tower II approaches sellout, the question becomes: what’s next for this city? Pérez is bullish.
“I expect the city’s luxury market to attract an even broader mix of buyers, from locals upgrading their lifestyle to newcomers drawn by the city’s economic opportunities and unique culture,” he says. “Developments like this don’t just shape the skyline—they define the city’s identity as a destination where luxury, culture, and community come together.”
The data is beginning to reflect that conviction. Tampa currently reads as an early-stage luxury condo market—still emerging compared to Miami or Palm Beach, but with the pipeline of a city that has made up its mind. The Ritz-Carlton has anchored the story, with its Sarasota Bay tower reporting a $25 million sales month as recently as early 2026. An Aston Martin–branded project has since entered the wider Tampa Bay corridor. Hotel ORA, a $675 million development in Tampa proper, surpassed $200 million in sales last November. Each arrival raises the same question the best markets always do: not whether buyers will come, but whether the city can keep pace with what it’s becoming.
It’s worth noting that Related Group and Arquitectonica are building the same story elsewhere along Florida’s coast. Their Ritz-Carlton Residences in West Palm Beach—a city that has undergone its own dramatic reinvention—hit 60% pre-sales before its public gallery even opened. The two projects are not competing. They’re a thesis: that Florida’s luxury market has more geography left to discover.
For Oxford Design, the satisfaction is more personal. They’ve helped create a space where Tampa residents—some who have lived here their whole lives, others newly arrived—can imagine their future. A home that feels grounded in its place, connected to its views, and ready for real life.
The Ritz-Carlton Residences, Tampa Tower II has residences remaining from $1.89 million to $7.85 million. For more information, visit: theresidencestampa.com.
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