Tampa buildings up for major award

Tampa City Center, Bank of America Plaza and the Waterford Plaza will find out later this month if they're outstanding.

All three are finalists for a Building Owners and Managers Association “Outstanding Building of the Year” award.

Fourteen winners among 84 contestants in various categories from around the globe will be announced in Washington, D.C., during BOMA's annual international conference June 28.

Tampa City Center, a 39-story skyscraper at 201 N. Franklin St. downtown, was acquired by Alliance Partners HSP in October 2014 for $128.1 million. The 750,000-square-foot building was designated the Southern Region 2015 Earth Award winner last month, putting it in contention for the annual award.

The 35-year-old building is managed and leased by commercial real estate services firm Cushman & Wakefield.

BOMA's Earth awards are given to buildings that excel in indoor air quality; recycling efforts; energy and water conservation; interior finishes; “green” purchasing policies; and other environmental criteria.

The 2015 BOMA Earth award went to the World Exchange Plaza in Ottawa, Canada.

Bank of America Plaza, which Banyan Street Capital bought late last year for a whopping $193.5 million, is a finalist in the 500,000 to 1 million square feet category. That property is managed by CBRE Inc.

Waterford Plaza, on Rocky Point, is owned and managed by Parmenter Realty Partners.

The last Gulf Coast building to take home a top BOMA prize was in 1990, when the 12-story Island Center -- owned since November 2012 by Parmenter — bested competitors in the 100,000-square-foot to 500,000-square-foot category.