Tech company leaving suburbs to expand in downtown Tampa
By Ashley Gurbal Kritzer
Tampa Bay Business Journal
Published: Mar 23, 2016

A technology company has left its home in New Tampa to expand in the urban core.

Nitro Mobile Solutions has leased 9,000 square feet at 501 E. Kennedy Blvd., the Tampa-Hillsborough Economic Development Corp. said Wednesday.

It plans to add 35 new jobs by 2018. Nitro will invest $100,000 in renovation, equipment and office furnishings.

The company has about 3,000 square feet in Highland Oaks.

Nitro is among a growing number of companies choosing office space in downtown Tampa over suburban locations. With unprecedented interest in downtown office space, rents are rising and vacancies are dwindling to all-time lows.

Vacancy rates were around 10 percent at the end of 2015 in downtown Tampa, according to data from CBRE Group Inc., with average asking lease rates around $25 per square foot.

Nitro's new office space has a new owner, one that paid $42 million for the tower in February. The building has been on a roll of winning new tenants as it deals with a major vacancy, with Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney recently moving out of 100,000 square feet.

The building is also said to be in the running for the Tampa Tribune's offices, though the newspaper is said to be considering several buildings, including downtown and suburban locations.

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