Tampa, Fla. (February 5, 2019) – Denholtz Associates is proud to announce that their renovation project at 490 First Avenue in St. Petersburg, Florida has been awarded the 2018 NAIOP Tampa Bay Best of the Best – Office Project award. Presented annually, the NAIOP Tampa Bay Best of the Best Awards recognize the professionals and projects that have helped shape Tampa and St. Petersburg’s dynamic real estate market. The awards were presented on January 31st at NAIOP Tampa Bay’s 25th Anniversary Awards Ceremony held at the Westin Harbour Island.
As one of the fastest growing real estate markets in the nation, Denholtz Associates and their project partner, Convergent Capital, recognized that the fundamentals of the Tampa/ St. Petersburg market coupled with a lack of modern, Class-A office space provided an ideal opportunity for a value-add office project. The investment team’s purchase of the eight-floor, 238,699-square-foot office building at 490 First Avenue in 2016 provided them with the ample space to turn this vision into reality. At the time of acquisition, the building stood at only 46 percent occupancy with a single tenant, The Tampa Bay Times, utilizing just 110,000 square feet of the iconic building, yet the property boasted a highly strategic location and superior adaptability.
Driven by the goal of creating the exciting, modern multi-tenant office building that the market was missing at the time, Denholtz Associates and Convergent Capital immediately began a substantial two-year, $9 million renovation project. The interior and exterior capital improvement plan would provide the flexibility and amenities most in-demand from today’s tenants to increase the building’s occupancy and marketability. The renovations included a full lobby renovation, addition of a fitness center and cafe, remodeling of restrooms and the addition of an ADA-Compliant restroom, addition of common corridors, and a complete update to the buildings’ landscaping and exterior fixtures.
In addition to the typical challenges presented by any capital improvement project, 490 First Avenue also presented a number of significant obstacles directly related to its age and design. As the building is, in fact, comprised of three separate buildings connected to one another constructed between 1924 and 1988, there were three disparate systems that were combined but not made uniform. With three varying types of construction and systems, the renovation project sought to marry these three buildings into one cohesive, seamless property.
The success of the renovation was realized early on as Taylor Media, the fastest growing private media company in the country, negotiated a long-term lease for 22,682 square feet of office space at the building last year. Additionally, late last year, Denholtz Associates and Convergent Capital were able to close on the sale of the building for $39 million, resulting in one of the market’s largest office deals of 2018.
“When we embarked on this project, we wanted to create a special space that a wide range of companies would be proud to call home. This substantial honor highlights the success of that vision and we would like to thank our peers for this recognition and their continued support,” said Steven Denholtz, CEO of Denholtz Associates. “We would also like to thank our leasing team at CBRE, our project partner, Convergent Capital, and each of the members of the construction team who made this complex project possible and a success.”
The recognition marks Denholtz Associates’ third award for the building. Late in 2018, 490 First Avenue also received CREW Tampa Bay’s Construction Renovation Excellence Award and CREW Tampa Bay’s Interior Renovation Excellence Award for Penny Hoarder’s build out of their 22,682-square-foot office space.