Miami-based Related Group is looking to plant a sizable new apartment complex in the middle of RITHM at Uptown, the long-running overhaul of the former University Mall just west of the University of South Florida. The developer has filed plans for a four-story building with 346 market-rate units on the 100-acre site, a clear signal that traditional multifamily housing is now firmly in the mix for the project. How fast this moves will depend on city review, design details and what nearby residents have to say as the plan works through the process.
What the proposal would build
According to Tampa Bay Business Journal, Related Group has submitted plans for a mid-rise, four-story building with 346 market-rate apartments inside the RITHM at Uptown footprint. The concept leans into a broad, low-rise configuration rather than a high-rise tower and joins a growing list of student and market-rate projects circling the USF area. The plan still has to navigate city permitting and any required community review before any dirt starts moving.
RITHM's long-running transformation
RITHM, short for Research, Innovation, Technology, Habitat and Medicine, is the 100-acre conversion of the old University Mall into a mixed-use district featuring retail, student housing, life-sciences space and apartments. In a press release via PR Newswire, RD Management said an LA Fitness is currently under construction at RITHM, and the overall master plan calls for roughly “300+/- market-rate multifamily apartment units” as part of the build-out. The vision pitches RITHM as an innovation hub tying together USF, nearby hospitals and new retail and lifestyle amenities.
Where renters will come from
Developers are banking on the University of South Florida and a rapidly expanding student-housing cluster as major demand drivers for more apartments near Fowler Avenue. The Hub Tampa Fowler project is slated to add roughly 1,195 beds across three buildings, underscoring how tight the student market is in the corridor. On the employer side, leasing and life-sciences outreach for RITHM's healthcare component has been handled by third-party brokers such as JLL, a sign the site is being marketed to both employees and medical and research tenants who could help support more nearby housing demand (MultifamilyBiz/JLL).
Traffic, approvals and what to watch
All of this drops into the middle of Fowler Avenue, an FDOT-controlled corridor undergoing a long-running Project Development & Environment study that weighs safety and transit trade-offs. That study looks at options such as business-access transit lanes and median guideways, which helps explain why planners and neighbors will be paying close attention to parking counts, drop-off and pickup logistics, and how new residents connect to transit if hundreds of additional apartments move forward at RITHM. Any needed mitigation or roadway tweaks tied to the project will be a key part of the city review process (FDOT Fowler PD&E).
What happens next
The Related Group proposal still has to clear City of Tampa permitting and design review before a building permit can be issued. The Business Journal highlighted this filing as the latest concrete housing plan to surface for RITHM, but for now the developer has not released a construction start date. Nearby residents should expect public notices and community meetings if the application advances.
If it gets built, Related Group's project would drop a hefty new batch of market-rate rentals into the RITHM mix and speed up the site’s evolution away from its mall-era layout. For locals, the immediate questions will revolve around what the building looks like, how parking is handled and whether Fowler Avenue and nearby transit can adapt to support a denser, more walkable neighborhood around USF.
