New services for Channelside and Downtown Tampa Residents

TAMPA, FL—May 2011. Downtown is looking up, with two new leases just signed at Grand Central at Kennedy. Paul Royak of Lane Witherspoon & Carswell Commercial Real Estate Advisors, LLC negotiated both leases on behalf of the owner, Grand Central at Kennedy, LLC.

Powerhouse Gym expanded its space at Grand Central at Kennedy by 6,789 square feet and plans to offer new and upgraded services to its growing clientele. This lease brings the gym’s total square footage to over 29,000 square feet.

With the increased space, Powerhouse plans to add:
• a 2,000-square-foot group fitness room with floating hardwood floors and a top of the line sound system
• a new 1,500-square-foot TRX, boxing and kettle bell training room
• an extra 1,200 square feet of space to its current free weight area

Powerhouse will also add a certified ART (Active Release Technique) sports massage therapist to its extensive list of services. In the last two years, Powerhouse Gym has been extremely successful at Grand Central because of its cutting edge fitness equipment and its convenient location.

“As always in retail, the most successful businesses offer top-notch services in a prime location. Powerhouse is right where it needs to be—meeting the fitness needs of the area’s 5,000+ residents and 45,000+ workers,” said Paul Royak of Lane Witherspoon & Carswell Real Estate Advisors.

The second lease negotiated by Royak brings sustenance to those residents and workers. Café on the Plaza will be a new tenant at Grand Central at Kennedy and will be located in the courtyard next to the current tenant Be Seen Dry Cleaning. Café on the Plaza will serve breakfast, specialty coffee and lunch.
Grand Central at Kennedy is Tampa’s first urban neighborhood concept and is located in the Channelside District on Kennedy Boulevard between Meridian Avenue and Channelside Drive. Located at the express entrance/exit ramp to the Crosstown Expressway, Grand Central at Kennedy is convenient for local residents and downtown Tampa office commuters. Grand Central at Kennedy has 392 upscale residential units and 72,000 square feet of second floor office space.

 Maddux Press Release 

Tampa Bay Business Journal

Positive Trends for First Quarter of 2011 in the State of Florida

According to a recent CB Richard Ellis press release on their quarterly findings, the commercial real estate industry in Florida has seen positive trends in the first quarter of 2011. Florida has seen a positive net absorption with Tampa Bay seeing the largest increase across the state. Furthermore, south Florida has had the most growth while northern Florida has shown improvements just not at the pace of the southern counties. All things are remaining positive and inspiring more faith in the industry spurring more business. Here's to keeping the momentum going in the 2nd Quarter!

For more information on this release click here

Local Job Market Is Improving!

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics the Tampa Bay area added 6,300 jobs from February 2010 to February 2011. Sarasota and Lakeland also so increases however they were as large. For more information please click this link - TBBJ Labor Stats

200,000 SF to be added to Lane Witherspoon & Carswell's portfolio.

Congrats to Lauren Coup who was recently assigned to mange the leasing for Palm Lake at Tampa Palms and Airport Corporate Center. Both properties are owned and managed by Tower Realty Partners, Inc. Tower has a diverse portfolio of 770,000 SF here in the Tampa Bay area. For more information on the assignment lease click here or contact Lauren Coup @ lcoup@lwccommercial.com.

Welcome St. Leo and thanks to Scott Hileman with NYE Advisors

We are proud to announce the recent transaction at Grand Central at Kennedy and welcome the new tenant - St. Leo University! For more information on the deal please click on this link and for more information on deals please call us at 813.288.1800.

Congrats to Gary Woodland for his outstanding win at Transitions

The Tournament was another success for the Tampa Bay area. Gary Woodland was the champion after sinking a 10ft putt for par on Sunday. This win grants Woodland his first trip to Augusta! Hope everyone was able to get out to the tournament to enjoy the fabulous weather, good golf and cold brews!

Thanks Alex for the great pic of John.

Hope everyone is looking forward to next year's event!

2011 Transitions Golf Tournament!

The 2011 Transitions Golf Tournament is back at Innisbrook this year! Come check it out this weekend - click on the link for the TBBJ release.

PGA TOUR

All Property Types Improving

CRE Investors should be very excited for things to come. According to the latest report from Dividend Capital, all five property types saw occupancy improvements in the 2nd half of 2010. As mentioned previously in this blog, occupancy is increasing because of the low rates of new construction.  The report also highlights areas that are fully involved in the recovery phase and preparing to enter the expansion phase where other areas have hit the bottom and are beginning the arduous moving up process. However, it is important to note that all of recovery for REIT's has been due to the liquidity crisis 2 years ago. To read more information on this article and to read it in its entirety please click this link.

Prior Economic Woes Are Improving in Tampa Bay

According to recent studies completed by the Tampa Bay Partnership, our economic climate is beginning to unthaw. We are seeing positives in our unemployment rate, the value of our goods and services, transportation & housing. Overall we are faring better than last year but our rate of improvement is slower than other southern cities. However, the key take away is we are moving forward in a positive direction. For more information on this and to read the complete article please click this link. 

2011 Could Be Better Than Anticipated!

After a great week in commercial real estate, 2011 may be better than expected.  Several factors are contributing to the optimistic approach: First, the reduction in new developments and construction has contracted the supply allowing demand to gradually improve. Second, the improvement in the market has increased various real estate values and certain properties (based on location and type) are expecting and getting higher rents. A property that has increased rents is a big indicator to potential investors that the property is a sound investment. These indicators are speaking volumes to investors. As things gradually improve, 2011 may surpass what any of us thought.

To read the complete article please click here

Commercial Real Estate May Be Stabilizing

A decrease in construction has been assisting the Commercial Real Estate Industry in becoming more stable. The contraction in new construction has limited the amount of vacant spaces.  Apartment rent should slowly rise in correlation with the gradual increase in job growth. This increase accompanied with our younger population leaving the nest and renting for the first time should lead to a rise in apartment demand as well as prices for rentals.  The National Association of Realtors (NAR) is also predicting a decline in office & retail markets. As jobs become more available and hiring increases, vacancy rates for all markets should abate.

For more information on the article click here  

General Grade CRE Property vs Investment Grade CRE

General Grade Commercial Real Estate Property saw a decline in the 4th quarter of 2010 while Investment Grade Commercial Real Estate Property increased nationally for the month of December. Investment Grade or "trophy" buildings are demanding higher prices. This increase was enough to lift the U.S. National Composite Index for the month. The index is overall down for the past two years however but continues to show signs of improvement over general grade. The overall indices show that commercial real estate is keeping to a vacillating pattern and will continue for the year of 2011. For more information please click the link below:
http://www.costar.com/News/Article/Latest-Repeat-Sales-Analysis-Finds-CRE-Pricing-Holding-to-SeeSaw-Pattern/126557

Tampa Economy 2012-2013

Tampa's Economy is improving. The improvement is slow and steady and most are are looking at 2012 to 2013 to be the time period that we break on through to the other side. Rick Scott's promise to add 700,000 jobs is a contributing factor to the postive upswing felt among those closely following Tampa and Florida's economy. For more information click on the link to read the article in the Gulf Coast Business Review - Economy on runway

UF Study On The Commercial Real Estate Industry Findings:

The University of Florida recently announced the results from a study conducted in the 4th quarter of 2010. The findings correlate with other positive news we have recently been hearing and are based off of the recent elections including the new pro-business governor. According to the study, "improvements were found in office & retail occupancy, available capital & land development" to name a few. "Occupancy expectations in the office sector increased & the outlook for rental rates increased slightly but is still expected to continue lagging inflation." The slight improvements have been wonderful but because of the extremely high unemployment rate and concerns over budget issues these improvements will only remain slight until these issues are addressed.

To read the full article:

http://madduxpress.com/2011/02/02/florida%e2%80%99s-real-estate-outlook-perks-up-in-several-areas-uf-survey-finds-18807

Emerging Trends in Commercial Real Estate

According to the Emerging Trends in Real Estate 2011 release by the PwC and the Urban Land Institute "investors should anticpate high single digit returns for core properties and mid-teen returns for higher risk investments". The release also noted that the most popular "property types are apartments ranking at 6.19 on a scale of 10, industrial at 5.07 and office at 4.72."

http://retailtrafficmag.com/investments/analysis/emerging_trends_2011_10132010/