TAMPA, FL-After brokers launched an aggressive sales and marketing campaign, commercial space at Signature Place, a mixed-use development in Downtown St. Petersburg, finally sold out. Colliers International Tampa Bay sold 56,000 square feet of commercial space within the complex to office and retail users.

Colliers brokers Alan Feldshue and Melanie Jackson brokered the deals for the seller, Gulf Atlantic Communities. The strategy was to price the space to match today’s market values while partnering with professional architects and general contractors to offer potential buyers preliminary pricing for build-out, along with a "vision" for each space.

“Since the space was sold in a shell condition, all buyers needed help visualizing how the space would look and how much it would cost to improve,” Feldshue tells GlobeSt.com. “By teaming with architects and general contractors we were able to sell the vision for the empty spaces and provide estimates for construction costs to make the improvements.”

Signature Place was completed in 2008. Last year, developer Joel Cantor completed sales of the project’s 244 residential condominium units but the commercial space wasn’t selling. This year, after reducing pricing for the retail and office spaces to match today's market, sales picked up dramatically. Feldshue says original sales prices in 2008 were in excess of $200 per square foot. Recent buyers paid about $100 per square foot.

Buyers included Bull Fitness, the Z Grille restaurant, Fifth Third Bank, Mahaffey Company and Wee Gallery. Most of the spaces ranged from 1,000 to 8,000 square feet—a size that is difficult for buyers seeking new class A space in a prime, walkable downtown location to find.

“It’s a better value to own versus lease given the tax advantage of ownership—including parking—and it provides the owner with a profitable exit strategy, since they can recoup all costs associated with buying and improving the space when they sell,” Feldshue tells GlobeSt.com. “If you want to own in the central business district, Signature was one of the few buying opportunities that provided opportunities between 1,200 and 8,000 square feet.”