WESTSHORE DIALING DOWN NEW OFFICE PLANS
Tampa’s Westshore office market, the largest in Southwest Florida with current inventory of 11 million sf, was on track to add at least one-third more space in years to
come. However, those expectations are being reduced due to the ongoing economic
downturn and a possible decline in demand for new space.
Brokerage research reports are showing that 4. 5 million sf of new space is on the
drawing board throughout Tampa, with about a million of that currently under construction, mostly in Westshore. Three class A buildings are opening over the next several months within a short stretch of Boy Scout Boulevard, adding at least 500,000 sf.
“While some preleasing could be finalized prior to completion, these new buildings
will be the largest injection of new space into Westshore since 1999,” says Randy
Smith, research director at
GVA Advantis in Tampa. He
and other brokerages note
that Westshore’s normally
low office vacancy rate was
just above 10% at midyear.
Landlords in Westshore are
attempting to hold the line on
asking rents at just above $25
per sf, with class A space
commanding nearly $30 per
sf, the highest in the Tampa
Bay market. However, Smith
points out that sublease space
Met West International in Westshore increased by
more than 50% in the first
half of this year, making things tougher for newer buildings asking $32 to $34 per sf.
Some projects have already called a halt to their plans, at least momentarily.
Philadelphia-based Rubenstein Partners has postponed its ambitious three-building,
580,000-sf waterfront office project dubbed West View Corporate Center, near Interstate 275 in Westshore, because of the economy and faltering demand for new space.
Meanwhile, two other office projects are nearing completion. The eight-story,
247,000-sf Corporate Center Four at International Plaza is expected to open soon, as
is the four-story, 50,000-sf TriPointe Plaza building, which already has Synovus Bank
as its anchor tenant and will soon be joined by a 12-story Element hotel.
MetLife Inc. is well under way with its $200-million Met West International mixed-use project, where a 250,000-sf office building with ten stories is set to open early next
year. Three more office buildings are planned, along with a 72,000-sf retail/restaurant
segment, a 260-room upscale hotel and 254 apartments.
MetLife is redeveloping a 32-acre site that used to be its regional headquarters. The
added components give its offices an advantage over those standing alone, says Chuck
Davis, regional director of MetLife Real Estate Investors. “When you add all of those
components together, it separates us from the crowd,” he says.—Carl Cronan
for the RECORD
CNL COMMERCIAL BUYS
WACHOVIA PLAZA BUILDING
St. Petersburg—CNL Commercial Real Es-
tate has purchased the 17-story Wachovia
Plaza office building here from Parkway
Properties Inc. for $26.3 million, or roughly
$140 per sf. The Orlando-based investor
was able to buy the 185,674-sf CBD land-
mark because of its ability to secure fi-
nancing in a tight credit market. The class A
office tower is 98% occupied and was Park-
way’s only asset in the Tampa Bay market.
This is CNL’s third commercial acquisition
so far this year, having earlier acquired the
180,000-sf Two Harbour Place office build-
ing on Tampa’s Harbour Island and a 46,000-
sf office/tech property at Central Florida
Research Park, near Orlando.
WELLS FARGO REFIS BOUTIQUE
Naples—Wells Fargo has funded a $26-mil-
lion loan for the refinancing of the Village
on Venetian Bay, an 111,400-sf boutique retail center here. The loan carries a five-year
term and 30-year amortization. The center
is located at Park Shore Drive and Gulf
Shore Boulevard, near US 41. Clint Frease
of Wells Fargo’s Commercial Mortgage
Group originated the transaction.
MOSAIC TO BUILD NEW HQ
Lithia—Mosaic Co. has purchased 7. 4
acres here from Newland Communities as
the site of a new office building near Fish-Hawk Ranch. The 100,000-sf structure will
serve as headquarters for Mosaic’s phosphate business and supply chain segments.
Ryan Cos. US Inc. has been hired to build
the Mosaic project, which is scheduled to
open in early 2010. Financial terms were not
disclosed.
