Underlying population and corporate growth trends favor Tampa Bay
Florida saw its population increase by nearly 1.0% in the first half of 2021 with Texas being the only state in the country to record a larger influx of new residents. As the impact of the pandemic is hopefully becoming more distant in the rearview mirror, the corporate migration and rapid population growth is not expected to let up. Unsurprisingly, investor interest in the area is bullish as reflected by the recent sale of Heights Union, a two-building, 294,000-square-foot (sf) complex located within the Tampa CBD submarket. Heights Union delivered in early 2021 and sold in October for $492 per square foot (psf) - an astounding figure for the Tampa Bay market - to Atlanta-based REIT, Cousins Properties. Heights Union is a part of a mixed-use district anchored by Armature Works, a dynamic public market housed in a historic, fully renovated, former streetcar storage facility built in1910 that now offers multiple fine restaurants and event space, as well as outdoor food and recreational space.