Lease deal keeps women's tennis group in town

It's unlikely anyone would have predicted the sale of Florida Power's corporate parent in 2000 would result in keeping the offices of the Women's Tennis Association Tour in St. Petersburg. But in a roundabout way, that's what happened.

Executives at the nonprofit WTA had spent the past four or five months looking at potential new homes for a consolidated headquarters for the women's professional tennis tour and its 35 employees. But none of the offers -- from locales including Atlanta, Los Angeles, Tampa and Pasco County -- could match St. Petersburg's, WTA Tour CEO Kevin Wulff said.

The dealmaker was discounted rent for the 15th floor of the Bank of America Tower, and the benefactor was Progress Energy. The company had been trying to sublease the space since Jan. 1, 2001, Progress Energy spokesman Aaron Perlut said.

The space became available after Florida Power's corporate parent was purchased in 2000 by the North Carolina company now known as Progress Energy. Florida Power subsequently moved its operations out of the tower.

Progress Energy still has 48,000 square feet in the tower that remain available for sublease, and an additional 24,000 square feet in the Northern Trust building, Perlut said. The excess space is a result of the utility having 400 fewer office workers in St. Petersburg.

While those involved declined to disclose how much the WTA is paying for the 42-month sublet of 12,343 square feet, it was presumably substantially less than the $19.50 a square foot that was listed on the leasing agent's Web site.

"They really subsidized their rates to keep the WTA in St. Petersburg," said Mike Talmadge, who works for Echelon Development LLC and is the leasing agent for the tower. "Progress Energy allowed me to make a terrific offer."

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