New York investment firm to establish Florida HQ in Water Street Tampa
By Ashley Gurbal Kritzer
Tampa Bay Business Journal
Published: Jan 24, 2023

A New York City investment bank has chosen Water Street Tampa to establish its new Florida headquarters.

PEI Global Partners Holdings LLC, which specializes in power, energy and infrastructure transactions, has leased 2,251 square feet on the sixth floor of office tower Thousand & One. The tower is 375,000 square feet, though that includes the street-level retail — home to new French restaurant Boulon Brasserie — as well as a second-floor fitness center and an amenity suite and rooftop terrace on the 20th floor.

Water Street developer Strategic Property Partners describes the lease as a “strategic move” on the part of PEI, which will move into Thousand & One in March. Water Street spans more than 50 acres on the southern end of downtown Tampa. Besides office space, the district is home to restaurants, apartments, The Edition Tampa hotel and condominiums and the University of South Florida’s Morsani College of Medicine.

SPP is controlled by Tampa Bay Lightning owner Jeff Vinik and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates’ investment firm, Cascade Investment LLC.

“As Tampa continues to experience incredible population and economic growth, savvy companies like PEI are seeing the value in spreading roots in an innovative new lifestyle destination,” David Bevirt, executive vice president of corporate leasing and strategy for SPP, said in a statement.

PEI’s neighbors in the tower include ReliaQuest, which moved its corporate headquarters there and has signage on the building, as well as Synovus Financial Corp., Sila Realty Trust, Northern Trust Corp., Weatherford Capital, RSM, Suffolk Construction and Walker & Dunlop, among others.

“The combination of Thousand & One’s thoughtful design, Water Street Tampa’s highly sought-after attributes and Tampa’s pro-business climate create an ideal environment for our company to attract and retain talent,” Kevin Phillips, managing partner of PEI, said in a statement.