New Feeding Tampa Bay facility complete after $60M capital raise

Construction has finished at Feeding Tampa Bay’s new headquarters and distribution building near the Port of Tampa.

Ryan Cos., the builder and developer, announced the completion Monday and says the 210,463-square-foot facility is set to open in May.

The new headquarters has 31,000 square feet of cold storage and an 11,000-square-foot kitchen as well as office space and a mezzanine level.

Feeding Tampa Bay says the new facility will allow it to store twice the amount of fresh produce and perishable goods and reduce the cost of meals up to 25%. And the kitchen — a state-of-the-art production and training kitchen — will allow it to prepare 5,000 meals per days.

The new building also will allow the organization to operate all of its programs in a centralized location.

The organization says in its 2023 annual report that it raised $58.7 million for the new facility through a capital campaign and calls it “the single largest social service project in the history of Tampa Bay.”

Ryan Cos. began construction on the project at 4000 Causeway Blvd. in January 2023. 

Feeding Tampa Bay paid $6.9 million for the property in 2021, according to Hillsborough County property records.

In its statement, Ryan Cos. says that it was the design and build firm for the project and contributed 25% of its fee “to support the organization’s progress” in addressing food needs.

Feeding Tampa Bay serves 10 counties along the state’s west coast, from Citrus, Hernando and Sumter south to Hardee, Highlands and Manatee. It also serves Polk County and the immediate Tampa Bay area counties — Hillsborough, Pinellas and Pasco.

According to its 2022 Form 990 posted on the nonprofit research company Candid GuideStar’s website, Feeding Tampa Bay has $39.4 million in total assets. That’s up from $36.8 million the previous year.

In the 2023 annual report, Feeding Tampa Bay says it distributed 87.1 million meals between in July 2022 and July 2023.