Tampa-St. Pete’s biggest weakness could be a plus for the office market during Covid-19

There’s a bright spot in the Covid-19 pandemic for commercial real estate and office space.

Companies looking for new sites for their offices are distinguishing between dense, transit-dependent cities and up-and-coming places such as the Tampa-St. Pete area, said Mack Feldman, vice president, Feldman Equities, one of the larger property owners in St. Petersburg, with Class A office buildings in downtown St. Petersburg, Carillon and downtown Tampa.

“The great irony, at least for office space, is that one of our historical weaknesses, a lack of mass transit, can actually be a benefit, at least over the next six months to a year,” Feldman said.

“Companies in New York and other transit-dependent markets are having trouble getting people into the office. There’s uncertainty around subways and bus systems. Here, we all drive into work. Our buildings have parking on-site to support that. We’re not as dense as a downtown like New York, where you have to brush shoulders with people.

“If you are a national company and went to set up a second office, where you can do that with a great quality of life, relatively low cost for employees and all the amenities of a downtown, then Tampa and St. Pete are going to be the beneficiaries of that.”

Tampa-St. Pete’s biggest weakness could be a plus for the office market during Covid-19

There’s a bright spot in the Covid-19 pandemic for commercial real estate and office space. Companies looking for new sites for their offices are distinguishing between dense, transit-dependent cities and up-and-coming places such as the Tampa-St. Pete area, said Mack Feldman, vice president, Feldman Equities, one of the larger property owners in St.