Morgan Stanley Tower downtown St Pete is pleased to welcome Live Nation Entertainment, Inc.! Special thanks to our co-broker Jack Hoskins with Newmark Knight Frank.  And kudos to our Tower Realty Partners management team. The best compliment is a tenant renewal. Our co-broker partners Evan Christiansen and Caleb Lewis with JLL worked with our Feldman Equities leasing team to secure the Public Resource Advisory Group renewal.

Feldman Equities is raising money from small and mid-size investors who want to own part of the Morgan Stanley Tower, a downtown St. Petersburg property, via crowdfunding as reported in St Pete Catalyst.

We especially like the idea of having a pool of Tampa Bay area investors where people know us, and who understand the exciting changes happening in the region. We made the deal terms on the Morgan Stanley deal especially attractive to investors because this is our first time on the platform, and we’re eager to build a solid reputation according to Mack Feldman.

The company has a goal of raising $9 million. It’s more than halfway there, raising about $5 million as of Monday, said Feldman, vice president at Feldman Equities.

While the company will continue to partner with institutional investors, it also wants to create a pool of small to mid-size investors, Feldman said.

Crowdfunding is often considered a way for technology companies to generate money for a new invention or process. It gained popularity after passage of the JOBS Act in 2012. But it also appeals to real estate investors, who previously had to go through real estate investment trusts (REITS) or private equity funds, according to Forbes. Crowdfunding allows investors to target specific deals at a lower cost, while diversifying their portfolios, Forbes said.

The need for a consistent and flexible source of equity is the most time-consuming part of growing a commercial real estate company, Mack Feldman said.

“We put up a healthy chunk of our own money in every deal, but we often need to bring in third parties to fill the balance of the equity requirement. Every institutional partner has a different deal profile at different times, so we can spend a lot of time shopping a deal around,” he said.

In addition, the equity sources the company works with are often middlemen that need to pay their own staff in addition to generating returns for the actual money source. That can put pressure on the deal terms, Feldman said.

“By contrast, with crowdfunding, investors just send us a check and are able to access the same kind of returns that were previously only accessible to multi-million dollar funds. It’s a better deal for us as the operator, and better for them as the investor,” he said.

A joint venture made up of Feldman Equities and Tower Realty Partners bought the 17-story, 187,533-square-foot building at 150 2nd Ave. N. in July 2013 for $20 million. The building was known as Well Fargo Plaza and was 65 percent occupied at the time of the purchase.

The building was renamed Morgan Stanley Tower when the financial services company leased several floors, and it is currently 98 percent leased, according to the listing on CrowdStreet. The leases that in place now are on average 14 percent below market rates, so there’s an opportunity to raise the rates as they come up for renewal, the listing said.

Investments through CrowdStreet for Morgan Stanley Tower range between $25,000 and $250,000. All investors must be “accredited” — people who are financially sophisticated, have $1 million in net worth and can deal with securities not registered with financial authorities. Proceeds from the crowdfunding campaign will go towards paying off a loan on the property, which will benefit future returns, Feldman said.

Feldman Equities has “skin in the game,” Feldman said, investing alongside other investors, and will earn exactly what investors earn, up to a certain internal rate of return threshold. The CrowdStreet document listed the targeted investors’ IRR at 17.3 percent.  For more information on investing in the project visit the CrowdStreet site. 

Read additional press in the Tampa Bay Business Journal article

One of the South’s prominent regional law firms, Adams and Reese, is celebrating 30 years in downtown St. Petersburg at Morgan Stanley Tower. One of the building’s first tenant’s has renewed the firm’s commitment to St. Petersburg and Pinellas County signing a five-year lease renewal. Partners David Bernstein and Jim Dickson have officed at Morgan Stanley Tower for all of those 30 years.

Adams and Reese Partner David Bernstein

Bernstein stated, “We are deeply committed to our St. Petersburg location, our community and our clients. We have enjoyed much success for our clients here over the previous years and have solidified our future to continue to serve St. Petersburg at Morgan Stanley Tower.”Partner in Charge Rick Flowers added: “Our location is convenient for the business community and our office space is an outstanding environment for Adams and Reese and our clients.” 

Adams and Reese 17th Floor Offices

“Anytime a tenant renews it is the ultimate compliment for us,” stated Feldman Equities CEO Larry Feldman who owns the building with joint venture partner Tower Realty Partners. “We spent millions renovating the building upgrading and adding amenities with an eye towards keeping and exceeding the expectations of exceptional tenants like Adams and Reese added Feldman. We appreciate their confidence in our ownership and management. Feldman Equities spearheads leasing responsibilities with Tower Realty Partners handling property management.

About Adams and Reese
Adams and Reese is a multidisciplinary law firm with nearly 300 attorneys and advisors strategically located in 18 offices across 17 markets throughout the southern United States and Washington, D.C. The American Lawyer includes Adams and Reese on its distinguished list of the nation’s top law firms – The Am Law 200. The National Law Journal also includes the firm among the top 200 on the NLJ 500 list of the nation’s largest law firms.

We’re pleased that Insurance Services Group of the Southeast chose Morgan Stanley Tower in downtown St Petersburg for their office!

Thanks to our co-brokers Evan & Brent with JLL for bringing Robert Half International to downtown St Petersburg’s Morgan Stanley Tower!

Directed Capital, a private equity firm specializing in acquiring and originating special situation commercial mortgage debt and investing in commercial real estate, will move its headquarters into 13,460 square feet at Morgan Stanley Tower in downtown St. Petersburg.  The firm will double the size of its current headquarters office located just blocks from Morgan Stanley Tower when it relocates later this summer.

Directed Capital CEO, Christopher Moench said, “While the company’s business strategy has always anticipated expansion of staff as our assets under management grow, our recent acquisition of a large FDIC loan portfolio accelerated the need for more office space to accommodate the growth and added employees.  Our new office space in the Class A Morgan Stanley Tower not only meets our growth needs, but will aid in our recruitment and retention of staff.  We will remain active in support of our community and look forward to many years of continued success in our new headquarters.”

Directed Capital expands in downtown St. Pete’s Morgan Stanley Tower – Tampa Bay Business Journal

The full floor that Edwards Group vacated in a downtown St. Petersburg office tower earlier this year has been leased to a growing private equity group. Directed Capital, which specializes in commercial real estate debt and equity, has taken the full 16th floor or 13,460 square feet in the Morgan Stanley Tower, the building’s owner, Feldman Equities, said Wednesday.

Available space at Morgan Stanley Tower has been rare since the building underwent a multi-million renovation. “Just weeks after The Edwards Group announced they would be vacating the 16^th floor, we signed a full floor lease commitment with Directed Capital keeping the building at 100% occupancy” said Mike DiBlasi, Feldman Equities Executive Vice President for Leasing and Marketing. “Those waterfront views sell themselves.” Morgan Stanley Tower is in the heart of downtown St. Petersburg across from the Sundial Shops and just two blocks from the waterfront. Feldman Equities’ DiBlasi and Ceci Tricoli negotiated the deal on behalf of the building ownership group.

The 17-story, 190,000 square foot office building was 65% occupied just three years ago when a joint venture consisting of affiliates of Feldman Equities and Tower Realty Partners acquired the building. Feldman Equities spearheads leasing responsibilities with Tower Realty Partners handling property management. This is the third downtown St. Petersburg office building the joint venture has renovated and brought to 100% occupancy.  “The St Petersburg office market is robust. Our three St Pete office buildings are now over 99% occupied,” said DiBlasi. The nearby, 242,000 square foot City Center office building reached the 100% milestone last year and the 250,000 square foot First Central Tower is now fully occupied following its recent renovation completion.

About Directed Capital

Directed Capital is a private equity firm specialized in the business of acquiring and originating special situation commercial mortgage debt and making selective real estate investments on assets in the $1 million to $10 million range.  Operating in the alternative investment space, Directed Capital is known for consistently providing its investors with superior risk-adjusted returns that are traditionally uncorrelated with the market by deploying capital into well-diversified commercial asset classes and geographies.  Founded in 2001 with 36 professionals at its offices in St. Petersburg, FL and San Diego, CA, Directed Capital has sponsored eight funds acquiring more than $1.2 billion in commercial real estate loans and other assets.  Directed Capital Advisors, LLC is a SEC Registered Investment Advisor (RIA).  For more information, visit www.DirectedCapital.com

Khonsari Law Group, PLLC will open a new office in downtown St. Petersburg at Morgan Stanley Tower. Special thanks to Mike Heretick of Vector Commercial Real Estate Services, LLC for brokering the deal along with the Feldman Equities leasing team of Ceci Tricoli and Mike DiBlasi.

The Khonsari Law Group provides powerful advocacy for those in need of representation. The firm’s top priority is ensuring  clients’ rights and interests are protected under the law. Founded in 2011, the firm prides itself on their ability to provide an experience that is both personalized and as relaxed as possible for every client. Their attorneys are easily accessible and prepared to put forth substantial time and effort into every client’s case. The firm represents individuals as well as medical practices, medical facilities, advanced surgical centers and various businesses in the Tampa Bay area and nationwide.

Sales Talk LLC is moving to Morgan Stanley Tower in downtown St Petersburg. Special thanks to our co-broker Jon LaBudde of KW Commercial for bringing the 3,700 square foot deal to the office building!

With limited availability at Morgan Stanley Tower it’s not often we get to announce a new lease. Special thanks to Echelon’s Michael Talmadge for bringing the Steven Raymund deal to the building! We’re especially pleased to count one of Tampa Bay’s most notable business leaders as our newest tenant.