Exclusive: Pfizer signs giant office lease in Tampa
By Ashley Gurbal Kritzer
Tampa Bay Business Journal
Published: Jan 27, 2021

Pharmaceutical giant Pfizer Inc. has signed a large lease for Heights Union, the office campus at The Heights on the northern end of downtown Tampa.

Pfizer has taken 105,000 square feet in Heights Union, according to real estate sources who asked not to be named because of the sensitivity of the deal. The location is entirely new for Pfizer, which in recent weeks has been ramping up job postings for an "enabling functions hub" in Tampa — one of six such centers worldwide.

Representatives from Pfizer did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday.

The deal is gigantic by Tampa Bay standards; the majority of office leases in this market are between 10,000 and 20,000 square feet. Beyond the size of the lease, it's also a Fortune 100 company committing to a significant chunk of office space at a time when decision-makers are questioning how much space they will need in a post-Covid world, as remote work and flexible schedules become the norm.

The lease is a major win for the developers of Heights Union, a partnership of Tampa's SoHo Capital and Atlanta-based TPA Group. WeWork had signed a lease in Heights Union in January 2019 and officially killed plans to move there in late 2020.

Representatives from SoHo and TPA Group did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday.

The deal brings the 300,000-square-foot Heights Union to near full occupancy, real estate sources said. Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) joins medical technology company AxoGen Inc. in Heights Union. AxoGen committed to 75,000 square feet there before construction began. Beyond those two large companies, several smaller firms have signed leases in Heights Union since it wrapped up construction over the summer.

The combination of Pfizer and AxoGen clustered in the same area could spur additional interest in the Tampa market from other high-tech, science-driven companies.

Ryan Reynolds, a senior vice president with CBRE Group Inc. in Tampa, markets the buildings for lease. Andy May and Jimmy Garvey of Cushman & Wakefield Inc. represented Pfizer in the transaction. Representatives from CBRE and Cushman were not immediately available for comment Wednesday.