(Carl Cronan is editor of Real EstateFlorida.)
TAMPA, FL-MetLife Inc. says work on its first office building at the MetWest International mixed-use development is on schedule to open early next year. Skanska USA Building Inc., general contractor for the entire $200-million project, will be the building's first tenant, leasing 20,226 sf.
A retail village being built near the ten-story MetWest One building is also well under way and will open next spring, according to executives with MetLife Real Estate Investors. Both the initial office and retail segments are getting plenty of attention from prospective tenants and brokers as they continue to take shape along Boy Scout Boulevard, in Tampa's Westshore business district.
"We're trying to bring some names that aren't currently in the market," Chuck Davis, MetLife's regional director in Tampa, tells GlobeSt.com. He points out that MetWest's highly visible location is generating interest despite current national economic conditions that might otherwise hinder expansions or relocations.
MetLife is redeveloping the 32-acre site near Tampa International Airport that was previously the insurance and financial services giant's regional headquarters dating back to the early 1970s. Building plans call for up to a million sf of class A office space, including the initial 250,000-sf speculative building; 74,200 sf of retail and restaurant space; a 260-room upscale hotel, currently in the design phase; and 254 apartments.
Skanska USA, one of the Tampa Bay market's largest contractors, will relocate from its current offices at 4950 W. Kennedy Blvd. John Cammack, the firm's executive vice president and area general manager, says the new building's plan to seek LEED certification fits well with its own sustainability goals.
Davis says he isn't concerned about competition from other nearby new buildings in Westshore, since MetWest is attempting to create a separate identity from standalone office space. "When you add all of those components together, it separates us from the crowd," he says.
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