Feldman Equities, Tower Realty JV Acquires 2nd Office Building in Downtown St. Pete

A joint venture consisting of affiliates of Feldman Equities, Tower Realty Partners and Second City Capital Partners, has acquired the 17-story, 187,000 square foot office building located at 150 Second Avenue North, formerly known as Wells Fargo Plaza in downtown St. Petersburg.  The joint venture purchased the Class A office building for $20 million ($107 per square foot). Larry Feldman, CEO of Feldman Equities will spearhead leasing and redevelopment efforts while Tower Realty Partners will handle management responsibilities.

The deal was brokered by Dale Peterson of CBRE in Tampa.

This is the second downtown St. Petersburg acquisition for the joint venture ownership group.  The joint venture also purchased the nearby, 242,000 square foot City Center office building.  In a little more than two years, the ownership increased occupancy at City Center from 44% to over 94%.  “The acquisition of the 150 Second Avenue building is another opportunity for us to do what we do best – renovating and upgrading office buildings in order to maximize their value,” commented co-owner Larry Feldman, CEO of Feldman Equities.

In June of this year, Wells Fargo Bank vacated 22,000 square feet at the building dropping building occupancy to 65%.  Mr. Feldman added: “In seeking a new anchor tenant, we can offer building naming rights along with stunning water views of Tampa Bay. We intend to invest several million dollars in renovations including an upgraded amenity package. We will use our lower cost basis to implement an aggressively priced leasing program”. Located across from The Shops at St Pete (formerly BayWalk), the building is one of downtown St Petersburg’s best-located, premier Class A office buildings.

Over the last 20 years, Feldman Equities and Tower Realty Partners have successfully joint ventured on the acquisition of millions of square feet of underperforming office buildings. Most recently the joint venture has partnered on City Center in downtown St Petersburg, Wells Fargo Center in downtown Tampa and Fountain Square II in Tampa’s Westshore Business District.

About Feldman Equities, LLC
Feldman Equities is the modern business entity that encompasses a century of success in commercial real estate development. In the last 25 years, Larry Feldman has developed or acquired over 11 million square feet of office and retail properties with an aggregate value in excess of $2.5 billion. Feldman Equities is recognized for its hands-on approach to turning around distressed assets. Feldman gained a national reputation as a property turnaround specialist when he was the Chairman and CEO of the publicly traded Tower Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE: TOW).

About Tower Realty Partners
Tower Realty Partners is an Orlando-based commercial real estate owner focusing on value-added opportunities throughout the state of Florida. Tower’s principals are Cliff Stein and Reid Berman. Since its inception, Tower has acquired over $1 billion of office properties. Currently, Tower’s assets consist of over 4 million square feet office property throughout Florida.

About Second City Capital Partners
Second City Capital Partners (“SCCP”) is a private equity company headquartered in Vancouver. SCCP is a multi-fund private equity group, targeting mid-market companies and distressed real estate assets across Canada and the U.S. SCCP offers investors a range of alternative investment solutions and strategies through a multifaceted venture platform. SCCP seeks controlled buyout structures including minority equity interest positions with trusted partners.