'Beer Can' building in downtown Tampa is up for sale
By Ashley Gurbal Kritzer
Tampa Bay Business Journal
Published: Mar 5, 2015

Rivergate Tower, known locally as the "Beer Can" building for its cylindrical shape, is on the market.

A team of Tampa and Miami brokers from CBRE Group Inc. has the exclusive listing on the 31-story tower, according to the property's marketing materials.

"The offering represents the opportunity to acquire an institutional-quality, urban office tower significantly below replacement cost," according to CBRE.

The 515,965-square-foot tower, which is 77 percent occupied, sold in late 2014 as part of a 19-property portfolio. It's common in commercial real estate for the new owner to spin off certain properties after buying a large portfolio.

Neither CBRE Senior Vice President Dale Peterson nor owner representative Mukang Cho were immediately available for comment Thursday morning.

The tower's $59.6 million sale price recorded in county property records reflected an allocation within the portfolio, making it difficult to gauge what it would have sold for individually. But other recent tower sales show an upward trend in values, with the Wells Fargo Center selling in November 2014 for nearly $200 per square foot.

When office buildings are sold, it typically means rent hikes are ahead, as new owners base their offer on the potential to raise rents.

Ashley Gurbal Kritzer is a reporter for the Tampa Bay Business Journal.