Texas financial services firm Fisher Investments last year signed a landmark lease in Tampa, Florida, helping to elevate the region's standing in the national office scene.
Fisher took 322,000 square feet in three buildings at Renaissance Center to bring the 840,000-square-foot complex to 98% occupancy. It's one of the largest office deals in Tampa history, market observers said.
In 2018, landlord Vision Properties extended WellCare Health Plans' lease of 380,000 square feet at Renaissance for an additional 10-year term. But WellCare wanted to sublease nearly half of that space in 2023 following its acquisition by managed healthcare company Centene.
With Fisher in the market to more than double its LakePoint One building footprint, Vision approached Centene and negotiated an early buyout at Renaissance to accommodate Fisher's space requirements. Fisher is moving into the complex in phases.
Vision CEO Fred Arena told CoStar News at the time that the company had two creditworthy tenants looking at Renaissance.
"We knew Fisher would use all of the space," he said. "It all meant coming up with a solution that most larger institutional investors wouldn't have been able to do."
The 12-year lease earned a CoStar Impact Award as judged by professionals in the market.
About the project: The deal, finalized in under four months, drove demand for construction and service-related jobs.
What the judges said: "It wasn’t just big; it was fast, decisive, and slightly audacious, the kind of transaction that reminds everyone involved why they bother going to work in the first place," said Quinn Eddins, managing director at Greystar Real Estate Partners.
"The transaction reinforces Tampa Bay's strength as a dynamic office market offering long-term growth and opportunity," said Lisa Ross, an executive director at Cushman & Wakefield.
They made it happen: Vision Properties CEO Fred Arena and principals William Bertolero and Anthony Arena played major roles. CBRE represented both sides on the lease: The tenant representatives were Ryan Reynolds, senior vice president, and Alex Hayden, vice chairman, and the landlord representatives were James Garvey, senior vice president, Lara Sieder, first vice president, and Kristin Kenney, first vice president.