John Carey Executive Vice President VanTrust Real Estate
How did VanTrust become involved in the SkyCenter One office building project? VanTrust opened it’s Florida office in Jacksonville in 2016. Our company intended to pursue projects in the Tampa area and when we became aware that the airport authority was putting out a request for quotation (RFQ) to build SkyCenter One, it was the perfect opportunity. VanTrust is a private real estate developer with access to significant capital. Therefore, financial capability to execute was not a question. Ultimately, VanTrust was awarded the opportunity with building completion in June of 2021 and will act as one of VanTrust’s regional offices. What makes SkyCenter One such a unique tenant experience is that it provides direct access, by SkyConnect, to the airport. For SkyCenter One employees or guests, they will cross the skybridge, check their luggage and then hop on the SkyConnect to take them directly to the airport terminal. The idea is to help with the traffic flow at the airport drop-off. The SkyCenter One building will stand nine stories tall with over 270,000 square feet of class-A office space. One of the unique things about this building is the upsized amenities such as the innovative fitness center with a wellness walking trail, the conference center, an onsite café with direct access to healthy meals and a 15,000-square-foot Atrium rooftop area. How do you see the Tampa Bay office segment developing post-pandemic? There has been a lot of discussion about how COVID is going to affect office space. Companies across the country are in an evaluation mode where they’re trying to figure out what they need coming out of this. Our personal view is that the suburban office market in Florida will become successful. This region will continue to see more companies move out of the Northeast into suburban markets that have a lower cost of real estate, labor and tax. For the same reasons that Tampa has been a great suburban office market for the last 20 years, it will keep on going. 58
| Invest: Tampa Bay 2021 | REAL ESTATE
According to the Tampa Bay Economic Development Corporation, Hillsborough County is on track for 8.7% growth through 2024.
( ) Landscape Despite the prevalent uncertainty triggered by COVID-19, Tampa’s commercial real estate segment has maintained its strong market fundamentals since the onset of the pandemic in March 2020. Long-standing efforts to diversify the local economic base coupled with no income tax and the high quality of life the market provides fueled key economic development wins in a year marred by the pandemic. A testament to Tampa Bay’s appeal for business relocations and expansion can be seen in the number of companies that moved into the market in the last year. From healthcare giants to maritime staples, the Tampa Bay market grabbed its fair share of economic development headlines throughout the pandemic. Headquartered in New York, Pfizer announced this April plans to grow its professional services office in the Tampa Bay market. Via the consolidation of its finance, human resources and digital support functions, the big pharma giant is slated to need over 100,000 square feet of office space and create hundreds of jobs, the company
