SunTrust tower in downtown Tampa sold
By Ashley Gurbal Kritzer
Tampa Bay Business Journal
Published: Sep 30, 2015

Highwoods Properties Inc. (NYSE: HIW) has closed on the SunTrust Financial Centre in downtown Tampa.

The Raleigh, North Carolina-based real estate investment trust announced the deal Wednesday. The Tampa Bay Business Journal first reported on Aug. 24 that Highwoods would buy the tower.

Highwoods says the acquisition represents a total investment of $124 million, which includes the adjacent Ferman Garage and a surface parking lot that currently provides 245 parking spaces for the building. That price also includes $9.1 million in building improvements.

The 528,000-square-foot, 35-story tower is 89 percent occupied, but will drop to 77 percent occupancy with known near-term moveouts.

"SunTrust Financial Centre is one of the top trophy assets in [central business district] Tampa," Highwoods President and CEO Ed Fritsch said in a statement. "The building offers spectacular views of Tampa Bay and the downtown skyline and provides numerous amenities for our customers. We have also identified a well-defined scope of opportunities for [renovations] and we are excited about the significant improvements we will make to enhance the property."

Highwoods owns 3.4 million square feet of office space in Tampa. But the SunTrust tower falls in line with its strategy in other markets, where the REIT has been buying up and developing trophy assets in hot urban infill areas.

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