The developer of Midtown Tampa sees a big opportunity for more office space
By Ashley Gurbal Kritzer
Tampa Bay Business Journal
Published: Apr 1, 2022

The story of Midtown Tampa has largely been one of shopping and dining — but its developer sees even more opportunity in the office market.

The 22-acre mixed-use district has landed the city's first REI Co-op, True Food Kitchen and Shake Shack. Chasing better visibility, Whole Foods Market moved to Midtown from a shopping center down the street. Chef Chris Ponte is building a signature restaurant there after closing his longtime spot in Clearwater.

In the wake of Covid-19, which shifted office-based employees to remote work for the better part of two years, the New York developer of Midtown says those restaurateurs and retailers have created one big amenity package that executives can use to lure talent back to the office. Midtown's office space has been so successful that developer Bromley Cos. is launching a new 16-story tower to be known as Midtown East.

Midtown West, the district's first tower, is almost fully leased after landing the headquarters of Kforce Inc. and Primo Water Corp. With the city's other new office buildings in Water Street Tampa and The Heights also leasing up quickly, Bromley sees opportunity for Midtown East, which will total 400,000 square feet.

“All organizations are grappling with how to hire people, retain people and get people back to the office,” Bromley CEO Nick Haines said, “and we think there’s a tremendous opportunity to introduce a big block of space into the market.”

Midtown East will rise on a vacant site that fronts Himes Avenue and is adjacent to Midtown’s dual-flag hotel and parking structure. Brasfield & Gorrie has been hired as the general contractor; Rule Joy Trammel + Rubio is the architect. Bromley is also planning to expand Midtown’s existing parking deck by 1,000 spaces to accommodate the new office tower.

Between Midtown West and The Loft at Midtown, the district is already home to 220,000 square feet of office space.

“We’re getting interest from all over the country on office space in Tampa,” Haines said, “in a way that a year or even two years ago, it wasn’t the case. The momentum is building in Tampa, and the rents are going up, and vacancy is going down.”

While the office market remains challenged nationally in the wake of Covid-19, the Tampa Bay office market has seen robust leasing activity since the end of 2020. At least two large office deals — Maxim Healthcare Services Inc.’s 71,000-square-foot lease in Avion Park and Wipro’s 112,000-square-foot lease at One Independence — have been signed in the first quarter of 2022.