Sykes will stay put in downtown Tampa

TAMPA -- Sykes Enterprises Inc., which had been looking for cheaper office space and considered moving out of downtown Tampa, will stay downtown after all.

The Tampa company has struck a deal to move into four of the top five floors at 400 N Ashley St., the cylindrical tower informally known as the "beer can" building. As part of the eight-year deal, building owner Colonnade Properties of New York is paying to upgrade the space, including converting the top floor from a restaurant into offices.

The deal was good news for Colonnade, which will lose law firm Holland & Knight, a 15-year tenant, a year from now and had a relatively low occupancy rate. It had to make a number of concessions, including a shorter-than-desired lease period and a contractual promise to locate a sit-down restaurant on the building's first floor.

"We put the full-court press on this thing," said Roger Mullarkey, vice president of marketing and leasing at Colonnade. He declined to say how much will be paid by Sykes, which provides outsourced customer service for computer and telecommunication companies from call centers across the country and internationally. Sykes could not be reached for comment.

Sykes will consolidate two operations into the 67,000-square-foot space. An operations center, currently housed at One Mack-Cali Center at 501 E. Kennedy Blvd., will move in July 1. Its executive headquarters will relocate from offices at 100 N Tampa St. in mid-September.

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