Partnership of national players makes first Florida office buy with $40M deal in Tampa
By Ashley Gurbal Kritzer
Tampa Bay Business Journal
Published: Aug 17, 2015

Westshore Center has a new owner that is planning to immediately start working on renovations.

Roseview-PMRG Fund I LLC, a $250 million discretionary fund formed by The Roseview Group and PM Realty Group, closed on the nine-story, 216,410-square-foot building last week. The group also owns properties in Atlanta, Houston, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts.

The group paid $40 million or $184 per square foot, according to Hillsborough County property records. Compass Bank provided a $33.1 million mortgage.

The new owners are planning exterior renovations as well as improvements to the common corridors and bathrooms. They are also planning to modernize the elevator system and upgrade the cooling system.

The building has more than 20,000 square feet of vacancy, making it a good fit for the fund's criteria: Buying office buildings in primary and secondary markets for below replacement cost. Its strategy is to renovate the properties to grow revenue, through rent increases and operating efficiencies.

"The influx of capital and development of both residential and retail in the Westshore district was a huge factor for us in choosing to acquire this trophy asset," Steve Corridan, a partner with The Roseview Group, said in a statement.

The seller, Boston-based TA Realty Associates, paid $23 million for the building in 1998. Cushman & Wakefield of Florida Inc. executive director Mike Davis, along with senior directors Rick Brugge and Michael Lerner, represented TA in the transaction.

The Tampa Bay Business Journal reported the property was on the market in May.