Tampa investor buys Westshore's Urban Centre office complex for $123 million
By Ashley Gurbal Kritzer
Tampa Bay Business Journal
Published: May 12, 2023

Tampa real estate maven Andrew Wright's Ally Capital Group has acquired the Urban Centre, an office complex in the heart of the Westshore business district.

Wright told the Tampa Bay Business Journal he was purchasing the two-tower complex and attached parking garage for $123 million. The sale does not include the Westshore Grand, located between the two towers. The buildings are 88% occupied, Wright said.

Valley Bank provided the financing for the acquisition. Trey Korhn, first senior vice president and head of the bank's commercial real estate division, led the effort, Wright said.

The seller, Starwood Capital Group, paid more than $140 million for the office complex in 2018. It is the second time Urban Centre has sold at a loss. The previous owner, pension fund Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association, said it took a $12.1 million loss on the building when it sold it to Starwood.

While Starwood and TIAA are institutional owners, ACG is an entrepreneurial firm. Wright said the ownership shift is more reflective of the national office market than the Urban Centre itself, and that institutions with office properties in major markets like New York and San Francisco are selling off properties to manage their portfolios.

"That's what allowed us to step forward and put together the private investment to acquire this asset," Wright said. "To do it in this environment is a tremendous accomplishment."

The purchase price breaks down to just over $220 per square foot, Wright said, and the cost to build the Urban Centre today would be around $600 per square foot.

Starwood improved some of the building's common areas during the Covid-19 pandemic, including renovating the building's on-site restaurant. Wright said his team is still considering improvements, but the building needs a new chiller, generator and parking garage repairs.

"Our normal MO is we buy things and fix them up, but the building, for the most part, is in pretty good shape," he said.

Wright is the founder and CEO of Franklin Street, and that company will take over the property management and leasing from JLL Inc., which has managed the building for 24 years.

"It's just an overall great asset," Wright said.