New ownership brings stability and financial strength to Lakeview Center and Eastpointe
Tampa Bay, FL – April 27, 2011 – (RealEstateRama) — Two East Tampa office buildings have been purchased by a new partnership between Penn-Florida Companies and Edge Principal Advisors, LLC. The new venture took ownership of Lakeview Center, a 187,500-square-foot office campus, and Eastpointe, an 85,063-square-foot office building, on March 25, 2011. The two buildings are conveniently located immediately off of I-4 on MLK Boulevard. The partnership made the strategic purchase to aggressively re-introduce the assets into the market. Over 50% of the rentable space had been occupied by Bank of America for the past seven years and is now available.
The partnership is immediately taking advantage of its strong capital position. Contractors have been engaged to perform substantial renovations to the common areas, signage and landscaping at Lakeview Center, which has 143,000 square feet newly available to the market. These upgrades will be completed this summer. Eastpointe was previously upgraded and has approximately 20,000 square feet available to lease. “The properties already boast high-end connectivity features valuable to tenants yet costly to install, such as raised flooring throughout, diverse fiber providers and an emergency power generator,” says Anne-Marie Ayers, First Vice President with CB Richard Ellis (CBRE). “This will be a uniquely valuable lease opportunity,” adds Ayers. Ayers and Jane Dizona, also First Vice President with CBRE, provide landlord representation for the properties.
Speaking on the investment, Jason Isaacson, president of Penn-Florida Realty Advisors says, “We are well-capitalized and invested in the Tampa market. These assets were purchased at a price that allows us to market the available space on aggressive terms. The buildings have a tremendous competitive advantage in attracting data, financial and other large users given the existing infrastructure and superb location. When combined with the planned and existing improvements these assets offer tenants best-in-class space at a great value.” Penn-Florida Companies manages both Lakeview Center and Eastpointe.
Penn-Florida also engaged CBRE in the leasing of M&I Bank Plaza when they purchased the Downtown Tampa property at 60% occupancy. Penn-Florida manages that property as well. Using a similar lease-up strategy and after completing BOMA award-winning renovations in 2009, the asset is now at 85% occupancy.
About Penn-Florida Companies
Founded in 1987, Penn-Florida owns and develops luxury, high profile real estate. Its corporate headquarters is located in Boca Raton, Florida with regional offices in Orlando, Tampa and St. Petersburg. The Company’s expertise includes planning, zoning, acquisition, development, design, construction, brokerage, property management and capitalization of both commercial and residential real estate. Their extensive portfolio includes millions of square feet of operating assets including office, retail, flex/industrial, apartments, private clubs, hospitality and residential property. www.pennflorida.com.
About Edge Principal Advisors, LLC
Edge is a multi-strategy real estate investment partnership formed in 2008 by Jeff Walker and Evan Mallah, in partnership with a family office whose principals manage over $5 billion of institutional equity. Edge has dedicated investment programs in multifamily, hospitality, special situations, office and retail.
About CB Richard Ellis
CB Richard Ellis Group, Inc. (NYSE:CBG), a Fortune 500 and S&P 500 company headquartered in Los Angeles, is the world’s largest commercial real estate services firm (in terms of 2010 revenue). The Company has approximately 31,000 employees (excluding affiliates), and serves real estate owners, investors and occupiers through more than 300 offices (excluding affiliates) worldwide. CB Richard Ellis offers strategic advice and execution for property sales and leasing; corporate services; property, facilities and project management; mortgage banking; appraisal and valuation; development services; investment management; and research and consulting. Please visit our Web site at www.cbre.com.
