City Center Renovations more than just aesthetics; focus on safety & energy management

July 7, 2011 - PRLog -- A joint venture of Feldman Equities, Inc. and Tower Realty Partners, Inc. has begun a $2 million capital improvement and renovation program at City Center, one of downtown St. Petersburg’s signature office towers.  Work began last month.

“When we purchased City Center earlier this year, we did so with the intention of making significant improvements.  Although City Center was already a Class A building, there were certain elements that we felt needed upgrading in order to make it the number one building in downtown St. Petersburg. City Center has an excellent location and stunning waterfront views,” stated Larry Feldman, President of Feldman Equities, Inc.  "We set out to enhance the building's modern acrchitecture with a series of aesthetic upgrades, such as new entry doors, granite paving at the main entrance and new elevator cabs. In addtion to these upgrades, we are also focused on safety and energy management improvements.  Following our renovations, we anticipate qualifying as an Energy Star building.”

Over the last 30 years the U.S. has experienced three separate energy shocks.  During each successive crisis, building management felt compelled to reduce lighting in order to save energy.  As a result, during this period, common area hallways, garage areas and lobbies in office buildings have become darker and darker.  Yet the biggest building concerns of employees are security and safety in the parking garage. This is especially true because over 50% of the workforce is now women. We've kept this in mind in planning the building renovations.  For example, with today's new energy efficient lighting we were able to nearly triple the number of lights in the parking garage utilizing half of the energy of the old, dim lighting.  Following the renovation, the increase in lighting was so dramatic, that one tenant joked that "you now need sunglasses to drive in the garage"

In order to cater to the much larger female population, we are also extensively renovating our restrooms.  Instead of the typical "institutional look" of an office restroom, our restrooms are being transformed to resemble what you might see in a fine home. The new restrooms will have large granite sinks and Italian porcelain tile floors.  Lighting in the restrooms is also being increased and we are re-doubling efforts to focus on cleanliness.

Renovations will include:

•   New parking garage lighting (complete)
•   Restroom Improvements (underway)
•   Installation of a state-of-the-art energy management system.  The new system is expected to sharply decrease energy consumption, thereby reducing operating expense pass-throughs to tenants.  At the same time, we expect to improve the quality of air conditioning delivered to tenants.  
•   The front entrance will be getting granite pavers while the lobby entrance doors will be re-done in a modern all-glass system. The new entrance will showcase the building’s signature element; the atrium lobby which features a glass skylight ceiling suspended 65 feet above a marble floor with abundant sunlight.
•   Work has commenced on the South Tower's 2nd and 9th floor elevator lobbies.  Many of the multi-tenant floors' elevator lobbies will be receiving facelifts.  “We want the prettiest lobbies in the Tampa Bay office market,” stated Feldman. The Scandinavian style lobby makeovers will include high end finishes such as blond oak paneling, dark wood base and all granite floors.
•   Work on the new fitness center began the first week of July.  The fitness center will feature all-new top-quality gym equipment with a full complement of aerobic machines and weight training.  The new fitness center will have women & men's shower facilities and will be exclusively available to building tenants for a modest annual fee.
•   The elevators are also receiving makeovers starting with upgrades of the elevator mechanical systems of both the garage and building elevators.  The mechanical improvements to the elevators will be followed by new interior finishes to the elevator cabs.  

About City Center St. Petersburg  
Feldman Equities, Inc. purchased City Center St Petersburg earlier this year in a joint venture with Tower Realty Partners.  The 242,115 square foot, Class A office building consists of a twelve story North Tower and a four story South Tower joined by a shared atrium lobby and a six story parking garage.  http://citycenterstpete.com

Name:   City Center St. Petersburg
Location:   Central Business District | Pinellas County
100 Second Avenue South, St. Petersburg, Florida 33701
Property Type:   Multi-Tenant Class A Office
Year Built:   1984
Renovations:   $2 Million Capital Improvements Underway
Stories:   South Tower – 12 stories;  North Tower – 4 stories
Rentable Square Feet:   242,115
Typical Floor Sizes:   15,000-18,000 Square Feet
Parking:   6-Story Parking Garage | 415 Covered Spaces | 82 Surface Spaces


About Feldman Equities, Inc  
In the last 25 years, Feldman Equities has developed or acquired over 11 million square feet of office and retail property with an aggregate value in excess of $2.5 billion. Larry Feldman gained a national reputation as a property turnaround specialist when he was Chairman & CEO of the publicly traded Tower Realty Trust, Inc . Feldman Equities recently acquired the Fountain Square II office building in Tampa, in a joint venture with TriGate Capital and Tower Realty Partners. Feldman Equities is recognized for its hands-on approach to turning around distressed assets. http://www.feldmanequities.com

About Tower Realty Partners
Tower Realty Partners is an Orlando-based commercial real estate owner focusing on value-added opportunities throughout the state of Florida. Tower was formed in 1987 by Cliff Stein and Reid Berman. Since its inception, Tower has acquired over $1 billion of office properties. Currently, Tower’s assets consist of over 3.5 million square feet office property throughout Florida. Tower owns and manages approximately 1 million square feet in the greater Tampa area, which includes the Palm Lake office building in North Tampa and Fountain Square II in Tampa's Westshore market.  http://www.towerrealtypartners.com

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Feldman Equities, Commercial Real Estate Develoment & Ownership specializing in turning around distressed assets. Feldman Equities has developed or acquired over 11 million SF of office & retail property with an aggregate value in excess of $2.5 billion.