Law firm GrayRobinson signs downtown Tampa office lease
By Ashley Gurbal Kritzer
Tampa Bay Business Journal
Published: Jun 23, 2022

Law firm GrayRobinson will remain in the central business district after considering a move to Water Street Tampa.

Dean Cannon, president and CEO of GrayRobinson, told the Tampa Bay Business Journal that the firm has signed a lease for the majority of the top two floors in Bank of America Plaza, where its footprint will total 32,313 square feet. That's an 18% reduction from its current office in Truist Place, where the firm occupies 39,456 square feet.

The lease is for 11 years, Cannon said, with options to extend. The overall investment in the new space is more than $20 million and "is reflective of our long-term commitment to the Tampa Bay region." In 2021, GrayRobinson employed 55 attorneys in Tampa.

GrayRobinson expects to move into its new space in July 2023. The tower is owned by a partnership of Banyan Street Capital of Miami and Los Angeles-based Oaktree Capital Management. Barry Hanerfeld and Phil Weber of CBRE Group Inc. represented the landlord in the lease.

For months, the firm was rumored in real estate circles to be looking at space in Thousand & One, the first office tower in Water Street Tampa. If that move had come to fruition, it would have been more than a real estate deal for GrayRobinson — it would have been a major shift in its brand and image. Corporate law firms in Tampa are largely located in the central business district; in the Bank of America Plaza alone, GrayRobinson's neighbors will include Shumaker Loop & Kendrick LLP, Hill Ward Henderson and Trenam Law.

Fourteen properties were on GrayRobinson's list at the beginning of its real estate search, Cannon said.

"From there, we narrowed our selection to a short list, which included Water Street and the possibility of staying in our existing space," he said. "While Water Street is certainly a fantastic location, we ultimately decided the Bank of America Plaza was the best choice for us."

A hybrid work model, in which employees split their time between a traditional office and remote locations, also played into the decision to move to Bank of America Plaza — as well as how much space the firm needed. The law firm's lease also includes flexibility for future expansion if necessary, Cannon said.

"However, making more efficient use of our space and creating uniform office sizes was a top priority," Cannon said. "Enhanced technology has been advancing the way we practice law for a while now.

"Taking over the majority of the top two floors of the Bank of America Plaza will give us the ability to create a more dynamic and efficient use of our office space with great views, enhanced building amenities, and convenient parking — all within close proximity to the courthouse."