TAMPA | SouthGate | 20 stories | 450,000 sq. ft. office | APR

[smiley]

Yes, that is all nice - now why don't they rip up the useless train tracks so the retail can go on Meridian, where people actually go instead of some side road where the space will never be filled. As for the bank - of course there is a bank in the lobby - what is an office building without a bank - or a restaurant.

[Jasonhouse]

They should leave the tracks and use them to feed a future commuter line terminating in DT... I think such a thing would be a whole hell of a lot more effective if it could get down south of Kennedy, where it can catalyze development in the hellish gap between the Shops-Forum area of Channelside and the core, where most existing jobs are.

I had thought way back when the trolley was first coming about that the lot Prime Meridian Center (actually the whole former Pinnacle development) is proposed for would have been a great spot for a transit hub linking a future commuter rail line, the trolley and an extension of the Marion St busway in a structure linked to a large garage, including a bunch of office and hotel space above it, all wrapped with retail along Channelside and fronting the hub's plaza... I'm sure theres some good reason why this is impossible though, as I'm no expert.

[AKBTampa]

It's merely half a block of tracks, and I don't think Conagra would let anything happen to the tracks! I agree that it would be useless to rip them out. It would be nice if the tracks could be used for transit as well, and would give more connectivity with the trolley!

[Jasonhouse]

^???

The tracks are tied to the CSX lines that run up out of DT to the NE... Also, Con Agra doesn't control the tracks, CSX does...

[smiley]

There is no reason the tracks should come all the way down - they can be a block off of Channelside for now.

[Jasonhouse]

The tracks will surely be ripped up in time. I'm just saying that it's too bad we weren't in an alternate universe. That corner would have been a good spot for an intermodal transit hub, as they call it.

[AKBTampa]

Originally Posted by Jasonhouse

^???

The tracks are tied to the CSX lines that run up out of DT to the NE... Also, Con Agra doesn't control the tracks, CSX does...

i know conagra doesn't control it, but they are the only industry left down there. either they still use the line or no one wants to pay to rip it up.

[Jasonhouse]

They get two shipments a week from what I understand.

[randommichael]

^ I'm still not sure I know where ConAgra is located. Do they have visible signs up on the building? Also, why is something like that still located in that area? I can't believe somebody hasn't tried to buy that location.

[Jasonhouse]

They have the giant factory looking structure wedged in between Meridian and the Selmon, a couple blocks north of Channelside. With the giant silo looking things that clutter the skyline... I know you know this!

[randommichael]

Oh okay yeah I know where that is. I don't know why but I keep getting it confused with those wearhouses that are closer to the ToC.

[AKBTampa]

Thanks, 2 shipments a week isn't alot, but I guess it is still a steady stream.

[FloridaFuture]

Rising against the market
Construction hasn't yet started on a speculative $140 million, 19-story office building
Friday, June 13, 2008
Tampa Bay Business Journal - by Janet Leiser Staff Writer

TAMPA -- The first new office tower planned for downtown in nearly 20 years has been delayed by the softening real estate market and sluggish economy, but the developer of the 19-story project says it will built.

Trammell Crow Co., developer of Prime Meridian Center, hasn't yet obtained financing for the $140 million project or bought the site at the northwest corner of Meridian Avenue and Channelside Drive.

But issues in obtaining financing "is not indicative of the project not working or downtown Tampa not being ready," said Anne-Marie Ayers, the CB Richard Ellis Inc. broker in charge of leasing at Prime Meridian.

Rather it's related to the credit crunch that's affecting deals and projects around the country, she said.

When Trammell Crow, a division of CBRE, announced the 450,000-square-foot Prime Meridian last summer, it said construction on its signature building would start this past spring and the building would be complete by 2010.

Trammell Crow now expects to close on the land purchase late this year and begin construction in early 2009, pushing completion to the fourth quarter of 2010, said Bob Abberger, senior managing director in Florida.

Delays are not uncommon with large, commercial projects, said Ayers, first VP of brokerage services at CBRE.

Abberger said, "It's not really so much the issue of financing as it is making the right decision on when to launch."

The Tampa Bay commercial real estate market was strong last summer and the nationwide credit crunch hadn't yet hit when the gold Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design-certified project was announced.

Since then, local vacancy rates have been inching up with landlords increasingly offering concessions to entice new tenants.

But Abberger expects the commercial real estate market to be rebounding by late 2010 when Prime Meridian opens.

"You don't launch at the top of the market," Abberger said. "Those projects in trouble today launched at the top."

The downtown Tampa market, referred to as the central business district, has had a higher vacancy rate than the larger, more robust Westshore submarket to its west for years.

In the first three months of 2008, roughly 18.2 percent of the CBD's 6.4 million square feet was vacant, up from 16.6 percent a year earlier, according to Cushman & Wakefield of Florida.

But Abberger is banking on downtown's reemergence as the premier office spot in the Bay area.

"Westshore has been the easy bed for a long time and for good reason," Abberger said. "But our belief is that downtown, our site in particular, now makes it a superior bet."

Both CBRE and Trammell Crow will occupy the building, taking up about 40,000 square feet.

Abberger told the Tampa Bay Business Journal last year the building would create a stronger link between Tampa's central business district and the Channel District, where residential towers have been built over the last couple years.

"It's all about connectivity," Abberger said. "We are now in the burgeoning residential district of the city. It is the emerging second core."

Since then, though, several of the newer Channelside residential towers have become mired in financial problems as the condo market tanked.

Pessimism abounds
The buzz among commercial real estate brokers is that Prime Meridian won't get built -- at least not until the economy improves.

"With the slowdown in the activity for the commercial market, I would think it would probably be on hold," said Paula Buffa, senior director of office services at GVA Advantis in Tampa.

"What we're finding quite honestly is most companies are quite hesitant about making a long-term commitment right now," Buffa said.

Other developers, such as Highwoods Properties Inc., have delayed construction of previously planned projects until tenants commit to space in those buildings, although there are several speculative projects coming out of the ground in Westshore, such as MetWest International, Corporate Center Four and TriPointe Plaza.

Doug Bartley, senior VP at Jones Lang LaSalle, also questioned the timing of Prime Meridian. "The economy will not support a project of that magnitude in the foreseeable future," Bartley said.

Another longtime Tampa broker said there are some companies that will pay more to be in a new, environmentally sustainable building that offers more prestige than an older Class A building. But many companies will be reticent to pay Prime Meridian's higher rates that start at $32 a square foot, or about $8 more than the $23.45 asking rate at other downtown Class A buildings built nearly 20 years ago.

Ayers, however, points out that Prime Meridian's rate isn't that much higher when the additional discounted parking that will be offered is considered. The building will offer four spots for every 1,000 square feet of space, compared to the one spot for every 1,000 feet offered at most downtown buildings, she said.

And in late 2010, when the building is expected to be done, $32 a foot won't seem as high, Ayers said.

"We're offering an urban environment with a lot of options," she said. "After work, you can go to a hockey game across the street or to a concert. If you live on Harbour Island or Channelside, you can walk home.

"When you think about it, this makes sense."

jleiser@bizjournals.com | 813.342.2468

http://tampabay.bizjournals.com/tamp...s2.html?page=2

[Jasonhouse]

^People shouldn't underestimate the value of what is mentioned in the last paragraph...

"We're offering an urban environment with a lot of options," she said. "After work, you can go to a hockey game across the street or to a concert. If you live on Harbour Island or Channelside, you can walk home.

"When you think about it, this makes sense."

I don't think that project will have the slightest trouble filling the building to a profitable occupancy level within 2 years of opening, maybe less. (this is because I hold the attitude that commercial tenants are increasingly going to look at the region's urban employment centers to locate their offices, with most suburban locations becoming less attractive than they are today)

[AKBTampa]

Their proposed number of parking spaces is also very enticing!

[JBrisco]

Wow you mean a developer who's actually thinking about the urban fabric of Tampa? WHAT IS HAPPENING!? Oh yeah... Gas is $4.00 a gallon.

[Jasonhouse]

lol

[tampasteve]

I find it rather ironic that they are championing the idea of living close to your work while at the same time saying how great their parking situation is.....whatever, I still like this project and hope it gets built, it would be good for that area of DT.

Steve

[Jasonhouse]

^It's smart marketing in this leasing environment. LEED Gold, good location, huge floorplates, and parking ratios that rival any suburban office campus.(meaning employers can cram more people per leased sqft, relative to other DT buildings)...

Trust me, this building is going to fill right up, unless the local office market utterly collapses. The Class A stock DT is getting old, and this building essentially has no competitors.

[JBrisco]

What about Union Station Towers?