Trak deal shows lack of flex availability

Trak Microwave Corp. looked at roughly a half-dozen sites before deciding this month to renew and extend its commitment to its Tampa headquarters, a sign that available “flex” and manufacturing space is in short supply along the Gulf Coast.

John Esposito, a senior managing director at commercial brokerage firm Newmark Grubb Knight Frank, says Trak considered sites in East Tampa and Pasco County beginning in 2014 before ultimately renewing its 117,000-square-foot lease for 4726 Eisenhower Blvd., effective April 1.

Building owner Chew Family Tampa LLC, of Atherton, Calif., agreed as part of the new lease to invest money into a new roof, air conditioning system and other improvements to the building, which Trak has occupied for more than two decades.

Franklin Street's Clay Wommack represented Chew Family in the negotiations.

In restructuring its lease, Trak also cited the building's proximity to the Tampa International Airport and Westshore shopping and amenities. Its building contains about 30% office space and 70% manufacturing space.

“There's not a great deal of high-tech manufacturing space in the Tampa market,” Esposito says.

“And there are challenges with parking and other limitations. From a tenant perspective, manufacturing facilities are difficult and costly to relocate. And to do a build-to-suit, from an internal standpoint that would absorb staff time and require a longer lease commitment than Trak was willing to do at this point.”