A plan to consolidate its spread out office space may lead the energy company to find a new headquarters within downtown St. Petersburg.
By LOUIS HAU and MARK ALBRIGHT
Published December 10, 2003
ST. PETERSBURG - Five years after moving into its home below a parking garage at 100 Central Ave., Progress Energy Florida Inc. appears to be mulling another move within St. Petersburg.
Progress' Florida headquarters are housed on two floors of the "Central Station" building on Central Avenue between First and Second streets N. The utility moved into the 133,000 square feet of office space in 1998 and has a 15-year lease that expires May 31, 2013.
But a few months ago, Progress informed Parkway Properties Inc. of Jackson, Miss., the owner of that portion of the building, that it intends to exercise an early exit option on the lease and leave the building by May 2008, according to Lisa McCary, vice president and asset manager of Parkway Properties in Orlando.
Howard Sadkin, a partner with Corporate Realty Advisors in Raleigh, N.C., explained to McCary in September on behalf of Progress that the utility's earlier-than-expected departure from the building was part of its plans to find a new home in St. Petersburg "that would give them a better corporate image," McCary said.
Progress' objectives under such a scenario would be to consolidate other offices it has in the area in a single high-rise building, demonstrate a corporate commitment to the local community and show a commitment to the economic development of downtown St. Petersburg, McCary quoted Sadkin as saying.
Sadkin didn't return phone calls Tuesday seeking comment. Progress Florida spokesman Aaron Perlut refused to confirm whether the utility was seeking to end its lease early and declined to comment directly on McCary's account of the company's plans.
Perlut said that "we often have developers bring prospective projects to us," but stressed that Progress hasn't committed to any plans.
"Right now, we're just keeping our options open," he said. "If we found the ideal situation, we would consider it."
Progress has offices in five Pinellas locations: its Central Station headquarters; in Clearwater about a mile north of the intersection of U.S. 19 and State Road 60; the Bayboro building on Third Street S near the University of South Florida campus in St. Petersburg; the Northern Trust Bank building on Second Avenue S; and four floors of the Bank of America Tower at 200 Central Ave. Progress also subleases four additional floors in the Bank of America Tower.
McCary said Parkway was keen on retaining Progress as a tenant. She said Parkway is willing to help the utility use its existing space more efficiently to accommodate employees from other locations.
"Our objective would, of course, be to keep them," McCary said. "They're a very important customer to us. It's just a matter of whether or not that space serves their needs."
If Progress were to partner with a developer to build a new home, its choices downtown are limited.
One prime piece of real estate is the block bordered by First and Second streets and Central and First avenues N. Developers Tibor Hollo of Miami and Jimmy Aviram of ANB Enterprises Inc., St. Petersburg, formed Tropicana Partners LLC to develop the property, which they purchased in June 2001 for $4-million.
Aviram said Tuesday that he is working to sign tenants for a building Tropicana hopes to build on the property.
Another potential site is the parking lot by the Bank of America Tower.
When the tower was built by Progress' predecessor company, Florida Progress Corp., the plans for the property included the construction of another tower where the parking lot now sits. Aviram and his business partners purchased the Bank of America Tower property last year.
When asked whether those plans for a new tower might be resurrected and whether they could involve Progress, Aviram replied "there's nothing to say" about the future of the parking lot.
- Times staff writer Sharon L. Bond contributed to this report.
- Louis Hau can be reached at hau@sptimes.com or 813 226-3404.
