(Carl Cronan is editor of Real Estate Florida.)

TAMPA, FL-The city's first large office transaction this year has been posted with Orlando-based Eola Capital buying the 129,000-square-foot Westshore 500 building from Des Moines, IA-based Principal Financial Group Inc. The price was not disclosed under confidentiality agreements between the buyer and seller, though brokers familiar with the deal put its value at around $20 million, or $155 per square foot.

"Whenever we can get an exemplary location at a major thoroughfare, and at a substantial discount to replacement, we view that as a very good situation," Kyle Burd, Eola Capital's principal and regional vice president in Tampa, tells GlobeSt.com. The investor now owns more than 1.6 million square feet within the Tampa market, including Sabal Park, Cypress Center and Buschwood business parks.

Westshore 500, a 10-story class A structure adjacent to Interstate 275 in Tampa's Westshore submarket, was on the market for nearly a year and had been under contract once before to a buyer that had difficulty securing financing during the ongoing credit crisis, according to local brokers. Burd admits that the delay may have led to a further discount in the building's asking price.