Mosaic Co. HQ shift to Tampa in progress

The Mosaic Co. is in the process of designing its new headquarters’ space on the 25th floor of the Bank of America Plaza in downtown Tampa, where it will move next year from Minnesota.

The Fortune 500 company, which is the world’s leading phosphate producer, signed a lease for 20,000 square feet in the 42-story skyscraper last month. The company’s CEO and other senior managers are slated to relocate sometime in 2019.

Anne-Marie Ayers, a CBRE Group first vice president who together with Philip Weber represented building owners Banyan Street Capital and Oaktree Capital Management in the negotiations, says tenant improvement designs, permitting and construction is likely to take several months to complete.

“We know they’re moving as quickly as possible, but typically, it will take six months from the time of a lease signing to move in,” Ayers says. “We’re hoping this will be the catalyst for future corporate headquarter relocations to the Tampa area.”

The Mosaic lease brings the occupancy rate in the 791,000-square-foot building to 92%, Ayers says. Other major tenants include Bank of America, law firms Hill Ward Henderson, Trenam and Shumaker Loop & Kendrick, and CBRE.

Banyan Street and Oaktree Capital acquired the 32-year-old building, at the intersection of East Kennedy Boulevard and North Tampa Street, for $193.5 million in December 2015.

Since then, they’ve added a new conference facility, renovated the building’s lobby and fitness center, and expanded retail offerings, among other improvements.

Zac Gruber, a Banyan Street managing director, says the Mosaic deal “justifies the attention we give to improving the overall environment for our tenants.”