Directed Capital, a private equity firm specializing in acquiring and originating special situation commercial mortgage debt and investing in commercial real estate, will move its headquarters into 13,460 square feet at Morgan Stanley Tower in downtown St. Petersburg. The firm will double the size of its current headquarters office located just blocks from Morgan Stanley Tower when it relocates later this summer.
Directed Capital CEO, Christopher Moench said, “While the company’s business strategy has always anticipated expansion of staff as our assets under management grow, our recent acquisition of a large FDIC loan portfolio accelerated the need for more office space to accommodate the growth and added employees. Our new office space in the Class A Morgan Stanley Tower not only meets our growth needs, but will aid in our recruitment and retention of staff. We will remain active in support of our community and look forward to many years of continued success in our new headquarters.”
Directed Capital expands in downtown St. Pete’s Morgan Stanley Tower – Tampa Bay Business Journal
The full floor that Edwards Group vacated in a downtown St. Petersburg office tower earlier this year has been leased to a growing private equity group. Directed Capital, which specializes in commercial real estate debt and equity, has taken the full 16th floor or 13,460 square feet in the Morgan Stanley Tower, the building’s owner, Feldman Equities, said Wednesday.
Available space at Morgan Stanley Tower has been rare since the building underwent a multi-million renovation. “Just weeks after The Edwards Group announced they would be vacating the 16th floor, we signed a full floor lease commitment with Directed Capital keeping the building at 100% occupancy” said Mike DiBlasi, Feldman Equities Executive Vice President for Leasing and Marketing. “Those waterfront views sell themselves.” Morgan Stanley Tower is in the heart of downtown St. Petersburg across from the Sundial Shops and just two blocks from the waterfront. Feldman Equities’ DiBlasi and Ceci Tricoli negotiated the deal on behalf of the building ownership group.
The 17-story, 190,000 square foot office building was 65% occupied just three years ago when a joint venture consisting of affiliates of Feldman Equities and Tower Realty Partners acquired the building. Feldman Equities spearheads leasing responsibilities with Tower Realty Partners handling property management. This is the third downtown St. Petersburg office building the joint venture has renovated and brought to 100% occupancy. “The St Petersburg office market is robust. Our three St Pete office buildings are now over 99% occupied,” said DiBlasi. The nearby, 242,000 square foot City Center office building reached the 100% milestone last year and the 250,000 square foot First Central Tower is now fully occupied following its recent renovation completion.
About Directed Capital
Directed Capital is a private equity firm specialized in the business of acquiring and originating special situation commercial mortgage debt and making selective real estate investments on assets in the $1 million to $10 million range. Operating in the alternative investment space, Directed Capital is known for consistently providing its investors with superior risk-adjusted returns that are traditionally uncorrelated with the market by deploying capital into well-diversified commercial asset classes and geographies. Founded in 2001 with 36 professionals at its offices in St. Petersburg, FL and San Diego, CA, Directed Capital has sponsored eight funds acquiring more than $1.2 billion in commercial real estate loans and other assets. Directed Capital Advisors, LLC is a SEC Registered Investment Advisor (RIA). For more information, visit www.DirectedCapital.com
