Iconic office building was acquired by a partnership led by Orlando-based Lincoln Property Company
St. Petersburg, Fla. (December 18, 2018) – CBRE has arranged the sale of 490 First Avenue South, an eight-story Class A office building totaling 239,585 square feet located in St. Petersburg’s Central Business District submarket. At the time of sale, the property was 65% leased to a diverse roster of high-quality office tenants and had recently underwent a $9 million renovation. CBRE’s Dale Peterson, Zachary Eicholtz, Courtney Snell, and Kelley Matheson represented the seller, a partnership between Convergent Capital Partners and Denholtz Associates, in the transaction.
490 First Avenue South was originally constructed in 1924 and is now comprised of three modern and integrated buildings with additions being completed in 1968 and 1988. The building recently underwent a significant exterior and interior renovation project designed to create a vibrant and unique office destination in downtown St. Petersburg. The project included a full lobby renovation, addition of a fitness center and cafe, remodeling of restrooms and the addition of an ADA-Compliantrestroom, addition of common corridors, and a complete update to the buildings’landscaping and exterior fixtures.
“We acquired this space with our partners Convergent Capital a number of years ago as we saw it had significant unrealized potential which we knew could be effectively tapped with a carefully executed capital improvement plan,” saidSteven Denholtz, CEO of Denholtz Associates. “This sale highlights the successful completion of the renovation project which will provide Florida’s wide range of dynamic and growing businesses with the ideal space to call home in downtown St. Petersburg.”
“Downtown St. Petersburg continues to evolve into a pedestrian-friendly 24/7 urban market with significant new residential and retail developments. This has created strong demand from office users and is now positioned as one the most sought-after office markets within the MSA” said Mr.Peterson, senior vice president, CBRE Capital Markets.
The St. Petersburg submarket has seen a significant decline in office vacancy rate from 22.6% in 2010 to its current rate of 8.6%, representing a 1,400 bps drop. Market rents have risen 34.8% over the same time.
The property offers a parking ratio of 2.1 spaces per 1,000 rentable square feet. The current tenants include Tampa Bay Times (113,311 SF), Taylor Media (22,229 SF), and Bank of the Ozarks (19,400 SF).