Hot EV company, with truck and SUV, opening Tampa service center

Rivian Automotive is planning to open a service center in Tampa.

According to the city’s permitting website, the electronic car manufacturer is moving into the space once occupied by CompUSA and TigerDirect at 701 N. Dale Mabry Highway.

The company did not respond to a request for comment on when it would open the center or for details on what the center would include.

But, according to a building plan revision filed with the city’s permitting office earlier this year, the center will be 24,864 square feet and include a service shop and storage space for parts as well as areas for employee and customers and a conference room.

The plans also show there will be five service and lift bays and a total of 30 charging stations — 24 outside and six inside.

The service center, which is likely to operate similarly to two Tesla facilities in the area, will be between Kennedy Boulevard and Interstate 275 and about a half-mile south of the shopping district Midtown Tampa.

The property is owned by a California company and was on the market for rent with an annual lease rate of $25 per square foot, according to the listing. The agent representing the property says in an email that there is a non-disclosure agreement in place, so he cannot comment.

Rivian, according to its website, “designs, develops and manufactures category-defining electric vehicles and accessories and sells them directly to customers in the consumer and commercial markets.”

It currently builds two models, a pickup truck named R1T with a starting price of $73,000 and a range of 400 miles and an SUV named R1S with a starting price of $78,000 and a range of 390 miles.

In a letter to investors earlier this year, company founder and CEO Robert J. Scaringe wrote that Rivian had produced nearly 35,000 vehicles as of March 31 and was on track to top the 50,000 mark by the end of the year “representing a 100% increase from 2022.”

The Irvine, California, company reported $55 million in revenue for 2022 on the delivery of 19,412 vehicles according to its annual 10-K report filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.