375-unit luxury apartment complex opens in Tampa's Westshore district

Another mixed-use, luxury apartment building has opened in Tampa’s Westshore district — this time next to International Mall and Bay Street. 

MetLife Investment Management, the institutional asset management business for MetLife Inc., celebrated the grand opening last week of the Emerald at MetWest. The luxury, eight-story apartment building offers 375 units within the MetWest International campus next to the high-end shopping mall at 2281 N. Lois Ave. in Tampa. 

Apartments inside the Emerald at MetWest range from studios to three-bedroom floor plans and are perched above 3,300 square feet of ground-floor retail space. Amenities include a resort-style pool with a deck and “aqua lounge,” open-air gathering spaces, a fitness center, co-working areas, bike and paddleboard storage, a pet spa and dog park, on-site public art installations and a parking garage for both residents and customers. 

“MetLife has been part of the Westshore business district for more than 50 years and Emerald at MetWest represents the next chapter in that long-standing commitment,” says Scott Sandberg, senior director of asset management at MIM, in a release. 

The new apartments are on the MetWest International campus off Boy Scout Boulevard — a 32-acre, mixed-use development featuring one million square feet of Class A office space and more than 56,000 square feet of retail and dining options, including Frisco’s Grille, Texas de Brazil, Kona Grill and Cooper’s Hawk Winery and Restaurant. Building the Emerald at MetWest completes the final phase of the development.

“By making this the last element it provides everything that anyone needs, and that really is what we’re focused on here in the City of Tampa — the creation of entire neighborhoods where people can move into a location and have everything that they need right at their fingertips,” says Tampa Mayor Jane Castor in the release. “They have employment opportunities. They have all of the entertainment, food, and anything that they need is within walking distance or a very, very short drive from where they live.”

Prices at the Emerald at MetWest generally range from $2,100 per month to more than $4,800 per month, depending on size and layout.