St. Paul Pays $22M for Three Tampa-Area Assets

The Minnesota subsidiary of St. Paul Cos., a property and liability insurance carrier, bought the two-building, 82%-occupied, 106,297-sf University Center at 10500 University Center Dr.; the two-building, 84%-leased, 174,400-sf Crossroads Business Center at 9940-9942 Currie Davis Dr., Tampa; and the two-building, 100%-occupied, 90,189-sf Gateway Business Center at 11300 and 11500 Ninth St. North, St. Petersburg.

Peter Billipp, a CBRE broker in Dallas, tells GlobeSt.com there were no special challenges or hurdles to overcome by owner or brokers in either marketing or closing the transaction. "We did lose our tenant for Gateway III during our marketing process," he says, "but we were aware that they would be vacating and disclosed this information to the buyers from the beginning."

The property was on the market for three months and generated strong activity from potential buyers, says Jack Fraker, executive vice president in CBRE's Dallas office. "This transaction was a perfect example of how CBRE's two investment sale platforms--the Institutional Group and the Private Client Group--worked together to provide comprehensive service and access the ideal buyer for the client," Fraker says. "The combined platforms of the two CB Richard Ellis teams were able to generate multiple offers from institutional, public and private investors that resulted in a competitive sale environment for the seller."

Besides Fraker, participating brokers were Randy Baird, also of the Dallas office, Kyle Burd, first vice president in CBRE's Tampa office, and John Robinson of the Tampa office.

Average asking base rent ranges at the three properties are $7.50 to $11 per sf at the 16-year-old University Center; $10.25 per sf at the 17-year-old Gateway I and the 15-year-old Gateway III; and $3.50 to $8.50 per sf at the 17-year-old Crossroads Business Center.