Very competitive labor costs along with moderately-low office/industrial leasing and sales tax costs help make Tampa the least-costly place to do business among 22 U.S. cities/locations with populations exceeding 2 million, according to a study by KPMG LLP, the audit, tax and advisory firm.
Click here for entire press release.
This is not entirely surprising. The Tampa commercial real estate market has been pummeled by vacancies and falling rent rates. With high inventories of shadow-space and vacancies, one can conclude that the pain is not over. Tampa’s once bullet proof economy has shown to be WAY too reliant on the construction industry to employ its citizens. With the highest rate of unemployment in decades, devaluation of rents and prices of commercial property is a natural occurrence.
Need to talk to us? 813.514.1070
or email by clicking HERE!
It did not come as much of a surprise when GunnAllen Financial, Inc. finally closed its doors for business today. Regulators had been digging around the firm looking for net capitalization violations after Chairman John Sykes abruptly left at the end of the last year. With Sykes’ exit, the writing was on the wall that the firm’s future was in question and brokers began to leave the firm.
5002 West Waters Av
The real estate story behind GunnAllen is quite interesting. An affiliated entity purchased the building at 5002 West Waters in 2004 for $9.5m and leased the building to GunnAllen. The property had originally been owned by financially troubled Tropical Sportswear and the transaction was considered a distressed asset sale. A parking garage was added to the property and it was sold 2 years later at the top of the market for $7.4m, or $2.1m LESS than the original sale. A new lease agreement with GunnAllen was executed with the new owners.
GunnAllen management believed it would need the 117,000 sq ft property to accommodate its expansion plans. When the stock market imploded, the property became an albatross for the company, whose profits were heavily tied to the market. Management had been attempting to reduce costs associated with the build by either subleasing unused portions of the property or vacating the property entirely.
Regardless of the circumstances, Tampa will now have an estimated 400 additional unemployed people and 117,000 sq feet of office space on the market. The property will be a challenge to market. It is a Class A building, but the surrounding area is really better suited for light industrial or transportation, rather than an office fit for a white shoe law firm. There is a significant common area load on the building making it best suited for a single tenant, unless the price is at a significant discount to factor in the common area charge.
Need to talk to us? 813.514.1070
or email by clicking HERE!
From the Marcus & Millichap’s latest Retail Research Report Via the Tampa Bay Business Journal:
Forecasts included in the local report:
• Employers will cut another 4,000 positions this year. That’s an improvement over the 50,700 jobs lost in 2009.
•Asking rents are forecast to drop 3.1 percent to $13.78 per square foot, while effective rents will fall 6 percent to $11.71 per square foot. That compares to asking rents of $14.41 per square foot in 2009 and effective rents of $12.79 per square foot.
• Investors will find opportunities in operationally challenged centers in heavily populated Hillsborough and Pinellas counties. Prices have dropped low enough for investors to attempt turnarounds.
Click here for the complete story.
Need to talk to us? 813.514.1070
or email by clicking HERE!
Every month, we try to post a handful of interesting sales or other lease activity in the area. Here are some of the recent high profile transactions in the Tampa Area:
- Sams Club (SAM’s East, Inc.) purchased a tract of land from DeBartolo in Southeastern Hillsborough County, close to Summerfield in Riverview, Florida on February 10, 2010. The purchase price was $5.2 million
- Chase Bankcard Services quit claimed 2 large parcels in Fountain Square to BREOF BNK3A Independence LP, whose address is c/o Brookfield Real Estate Opportunity Fund in Brooklyn NY. It appears that Chase Bankcard purchased one parcel in 1993 for $31,000,000 (L2B1) and the other in 1994 for $3,500,00 (L1B1). The quit claim values were listed at $15.75m and $27.75m, respectively. Feb 18, 2010.
Need to talk to us? 813.514.1070
or email by clicking HERE!
