Homeowners Choice buys building to move from Clearwater to Tampa
By Margaret Cashill
Tampa Bay Business Journal
Published: Aug 12, 2010

Homeowners Choice Inc., an insurance company based in Clearwater, is midway through its move to Tampa's Westshore business district. The firm in May purchased the Cypress Commons building at 5300 W. Cypress Street, previously headquarters to PBS&J, for $7.1 million.

The seller was CAT-FLA Owner LLC. Homeowners Choice, which has about 65 employees, will occupy about 61,000 square feet of the 122,000-square-foot building. The company's legal, marketing and underwriting departments have moved to a temporary space at Cypress Commons, while customer service, finance, claims and operations departments, as well as the mailroom, remain in leased space in Clearwater. The human resources department operates at both sites.

Homeowners Choice scheduled the move to avoid business interruptions during the hurricane season, which ends in November. The company intends to complete the move by year's end, said Jay Madhu, vice president of marketing and board director.

Homeowners Choice (NASDAQ: HCII) provides property and casualty homeowners' insurance, condominium owners' insurance and tenants' insurance to Florida property owners.