Pru Sells Landmark Westshore Office Asset to TIAA-CREF

TAMPA, FL-Despite a class A vacancy level of 19.7% in Tampa Bay’s 30 million-sf office market, the 14-year-old, 220,579-sf, 98%-leased 4200 Cypress building in the affluent Westshore submarket, owned by Prudential Real Estate Investors, was sold in 90 days to New York-based Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association for $32.8 million or $148.47 per sf.

The price of the 10-story building at 4200 West Cypress St., directly off Interstate 275, compares with the May 2003 sale of another class A Westshore property, the 13-story Tampa Commons that went for $40.2 million or $158 per sf, the biggest office deal of 2003.

For TIAA-CREF, the acquisition of the trophy property marks its second Tampa area purchase since buying the Pointe building on nearby Rocky Point in October 2002 for $41.2 million or $165 per sf–the highest recorded price in the Tampa Bay hub, area brokers tell GlobeSt.com.