Park Tower could be the last of an era (for now) in Tampa

Tampa has had some notable office sales during the past two years, capped by the December 2015 trade of the Bank of America Plaza for $193.5 million.

But with the roughly $80 million sale earlier this month of the 36-story Park Tower building, at 400 N. Tampa St., that era may have ended.

“It could be the last major downtown or central business district sale this cycle,” says John F. Gerlach, a Colliers International Tampa Bay managing director who represented seller Sterling Equities and PT Associates LP in the sale to City Office REIT, Feldman Equities and Tower Realty Partners.

The 476,000-square-foot building is 87% leased.

Feldman and partners intend to invest significant capital into the former First Financial Tower — built for $25 million in 1973.

“We'll modernize the appearance outside and inside,” says CEO Larry Feldman, whose company and Tower Realty also own the Wells Fargo Center in Tampa and the First Central Tower in St. Petersburg, among other assets.

“We're exploring our options at this point, but I think this could be the first local acquisition we've done where we'll actually touch the skin of the building.”