Downtown St. Pete office tower kicks off multimillion-dollar renovation
By Breanne Williams
Tampa Bay Business Journal
Published: Jun 3, 2024

City Center, an office tower on Second Avenue South in downtown St. Petersburg, has begun a multimillion-dollar renovation.

The tower, located at 100 Second Ave. S, is owned by a joint venture of City Office REIT Inc., St. Petersburg-based Feldman Equities and Tower Realty Partners. The 242,115-square-foot tower was built in 1985 and has had roughly $4 million in capital improvements from renovations in 2005, 2011 and 2012.

It is 88% occupied. The same ownership group poured millions of dollars into a similar renovation of Park Tower, downtown Tampa’s oldest office tower, in 2019.

St. Pete’s office market is an anomaly among most major U.S. metros. The total vacancy in St. Pete’s central business district was just under 12% at the end of the first quarter, according to CBRE Group Inc. Large contiguous blocks of modern space are difficult to come by, and a speculative office tower is part of The Central, the mixed-use project formerly known as Orange Station.

“The downtown St. Petersburg office market is one of the nation’s strongest,” James Farrar, City Office REIT CEO, said in a release. “Tenants and employees are gravitating to buildings with modern amenities and vibrant communities. Together with unparalleled views of Tampa Bay, City Center will be downtown’s premier place of work.”

The lobby has been redesigned, and a new and expanded fitness center will feature state-of-the-art equipment, showers and lockers. There will also be a new conference center with 50 seats and a coffee and espresso bar.

The atrium lobby will be updated with new lounge seating, updated bathrooms and new elevator lobbies. The exterior entrances will have new entryways and will include enhanced landscaping.

“Employers desperately want their employees back in the office, so they are trading up from the Class B space knowing that if they give a beautiful space to their employees, it will lure them back to the office,” Larry Feldman, president and CEO of Feldman Equities, said in a release.

Feldman Equities and Tower Realty have partnered on several other projects throughout the area, including First Central Tower and the Morgan Stanley Tower in downtown St. Pete, Park Tower in downtown Tampa and the Sarasota City Center in downtown Sarasota.

Entos Design is the architect for the project. Entos Design’s CEO and principal Suzanne Brasuell said the newly designed amenities will set City Center apart as a one-of-a-kind office destination.

Renovations are expected to be completed by February 2025.