Furniture chain moves e-commerce HQ to Tampa

TAMPA — Ashley Furniture Industries Inc. will take over 70,000 square feet of space in Tampa's Ybor City district, planned to eventually be home to more than 100 employees.

The space in the Centro Ybor retail and office complex will be the base for Ashley's e-commerce operations through a subsidiary, Ashcomm LLC.

Hillsborough County Commissioner Sandra Murman says the competition to get the headquarters was among six states. It will mark the completion of a full turnaround for Centro Ybor, the complex built as a retail center in the early 2000s, designed to revitalize the historic neighborhood.

Since then, however, Centro Ybor has become home to not just retail and restaurants, but offices as well, including Chappell Roberts, Florida Business Interiors and C.H. Robinson Worldwide Inc. It still offers non-office options like Tampa Bay Brewing Co., Carne Chophouse and The Brass Tap, as well as a Muvico movie theater.

The renovation will be part of an adaptive reuse project that should be completed by the end of the year. It will involve 30 direct subcontractors and 100 suppliers, according to a release. It will involve Ybor companies including The Perry Co., Ai Collaborative and Fabricated Products.

Based in Arcadia, Wis., Ashley was founded in 1945, and sells its manufactured products through more than 560 stores. That includes 31 stores in Florida; Gulf Coast locations are in Brandon, Fort Myers, Clearwater, Lakeland, Naples, Pinellas Park, Sarasota and Wesley Chapel.