Downtown Tampa office tower could fetch close to $200 million
By Ashley Gurbal Kritzer
Tampa Bay Business Journal
Published: Dec 11, 2015

Bank of America Plaza in downtown Tampa is on the verge of being sold for a potentially record-setting figure, according to a report.

Oaktree Capital Management, based in Los Angeles, is partnering with Miami-based Banyan Real Estate Capital to buy the tower, according to Private Equity Real Estate news, an online publication based in London.

PERE, citing unnamed sources, has the sale price pegged at $195 million, which it says would be a record for the city. That price would break down to close to $250 per square foot. A team of brokers from CBRE Group Inc. (NYSE: CBG), including senior vice presidents Christian Lee in Miami and Dale Peterson in Tampa, are marketing the tower for sale for MetLife Real Estate Investors.

A source with knowledge of the deal told the Tampa Bay Business Journal that the transaction is likely to close by the end of the year.

When the tower hit the market in early September, sources told the TBBJ that a record-setting sale was likely, given the dwindling office vacancies in Tampa's urban core as well as the amenity package.

When marketing materials went out, the tower was 89 percent occupied. The top two floors are occupied by the Tampa Club, a private dining and events facility. A dentist office, hair salon and fitness center are tenants in the building. In August, Banyan paid $70 million for downtown's cylindrical skyscraper, Rivergate Tower.

Ashley Gurbal Kritzer is a reporter for the Tampa Bay Business Journal.