TAMPA—Tampa has a new office story to tell: tenant expansions. The latest proof comes via CareCentrix. The healthcare benefits management company just inked a 17,625-square-foot lease expansion deal at Westlake Corporate Center in northwest Tampa.
Jones Lang LaSalle managing director Chris Butler negotiated the lease expansion on behalf of CareCentrix. Wendy Giffin of Osprey Real Estate Services represented the landlord.
“The market is heading quickly towards a landlord’s market, especially for large users needing space of more than 20,000 square feet,” Butler tells GlobeSt.com. “We are definitely seeing more expansions. In fact, more deals are being done and more decisions being made.”
As Butler sees it, companies in Tampa are once again in growth mode. Case in point: CareCentrix. The firm originally opened the facility in June 2011 and added 152 new jobs. The firm’s local workforce is now more than 500 strong and its total lease spans about 50,000 square feet.
According to CBRE, the office vacancy rate has officially dropped under 20% in Tampa for the first time since 2008—and the Tampa CBD stands at 16.6%. What’s more, almost half of the 1 million square feet of absorption for 2011 was contributed in the fourth quarter. Average office rental rates stand at just under $20 per square feet, the highest since 2006. The Westshore submarket still commands the highest rates at over $24 per square foot.
“Only a year ago, the market was sluggish and companies were reluctant to make decisions,” Butler says. “This trend has well and truly reversed this year. In June CareCentrix absorbed 30,000 square feet and now this deal at just under 20,000 square feet. The firm also has a 42,000-square-foot existing facility in the area.”
© Touchpoint Markets, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to asset-and-logo-licensing@alm.com. For more inforrmation visit Asset & Logo Licensing.