Downtown Tampa skyscraper sells to New York firm

The Wells Fargo Center in Tampa has sold.

The well-known rose-colored tower, a feature on Tampa’s down skyline since the 1980s, went to an investment group led by New York real estate investment and development company The Feil Organization.

The sale price was not disclosed, and Hillsborough County property records have not been updated with the sales information. 

CBRE, which arranged for the sale, announced the deal.

The 22-story Wells Fargo Center was built in 1985 at 100 South Ashley Drive at a time when downtown Tampa was a far different place than what it is today. This was a time when people fled after work and did not come back until the next morning or Monday, and dreams about downtown arenas and major residential, hotel and retail developments were just that, dreams. The Straz Center for Performing Arts was two years away. 

Today, the LEED Gold-certified building is described in the statement as having “an exterior façade highlighted by rose colored concrete panels and insulated solar bronze finish curtain wall set in aluminum frames.”

The building’s seller was a joint venture between New York Life Real Estate Investors, Tampa developer Feldman Development Equities and Tower Realty Partners. Feldman and Tower bought the tower in 2012 for $44.8 million.

Larry Feldman, CEO of Feldman Equities, says in the statement that after buying the building, the two firms began major capital improvements “that completely repositioned the building into one of downtown Tampa’s premier office buildings.”

According to CBRE, the building has undergone $8.4 million in capital improvements and is 93% leased.

Tenants in the 393,649-square-foot tower include Wells Fargo Bank, Valet Living, Continuum Cloud and Carlton Fields.

The Feil Organization, according to its website, own, have developed and managed 24 million square feet of retail, commercial and industrial properties as well as more than 5,000 residential rental units.

In its portfolio are several properties in the Tampa Bay market, including Baypoint Commerce Center, The Point at Gateway ad 560 Carillon Parkways in St. Petersburg and TriPointe Plaza in Tampa.