Facelift in the works for historic factory-turned-office-building in downtown Tampa
By Ashley Gurbal Kritzer
Tampa Bay Business Journal
Published: Mar 17, 2015

A Tampa investment firm has acquired a historic office building between the urban core and the Channel district, with plans to renovate the property and add modern amenities.

Arcis Investments Inc. paid $3.03 million for the 35,235-square-foot office building at 109 N. Brush St. in a deal that closed Friday, according to Hillsborough County property records. The five-story building is 100 percent leased to 10 tenants, many of whom are attorneys. The former Perry Paint & Glass Building was built as a factory in 1928 and converted to office space in 1988. The seller, a group of South Florida investors, paid $3.85 million for the building in 2006.

"We've got great parking, and there's easy access in and out," Arcis Principal Bruce Burdge said. "And with everything Jeff Vinik has planned for Channelside, we just think it's in a great area."

Burdge said he plans invest around $500,000 in the building, to modernize the elevator cab, making improvements to the heating and cooling system and add an outdoor seating area with Wi-Fi. Solar panels will also be added to the building. "We're certainly not reinventing the wheel," he said. "We're modeling it after what a lot of other landlords in town have done."

Typically, a landlord will raise rents after renovating a building, though Burdge would say only that "we'll see what the market demands" and his goal is to maintain 100 percent occupancy.

He plans to start the improvements by mid-April and wrap up the exterior work before the rainy season begins.

Arcis owns more than 1 million square feet of office and warehouse space in the metro Birmingham, Ala. area. Its Tampa holdings include several smaller buildings, like 5517 W. La Salle St. in Westshore, which is 100 percent leased to New York Life, and 1413 Tech Blvd., an office building in East Tampa.

"We're value-add buyers," Burdge said. "We're a little more hands on."

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