Weatherford Capital signs office lease in Water Street Tampa

The following is a copy of an article published on bizjournals/tampabay.com on October 31, 2022. The full article can be found here.

The largest private equity firm in the Tampa Bay region will move from Tampa’s central business district to Water Street.

Strategic Property Partners, the developer of Water Street, said Monday that Weatherford Capital has signed a lease for “nearly 10,000 square feet on the 12th floor” of Thousand & One, Water Street’s office tower along Channelside Drive. The company is currently in 100 North Tampa.

The deal is on the small end of average for the Tampa Bay market, where most office leases are between 10,000 and 20,000 square feet. The Water Street location is based on the firm’s forecasted growth; currently, 12 employees work from the Tampa headquarters. Weatherford Capital also has an office in Dallas.

Weatherford Capital has $684 million in capital under management, according to Tampa Bay Business Journal data.

“To attract and build a world-class team, we need to be located in a world-class office building where our valued colleagues can take full advantage of the incredible attributes that Tampa offers,” Will Weatherford, managing partner for Weatherford Capital, said in a statement.

SPP, which is controlled by Tampa Bay Lightning owner Jeff Vinik and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates’ Cascade Investment LLC, recently landed another 10,000-square-foot tenant in Thousand & One: Northern Trust Corp., which will also move from the central business district. Its anchor tenant is Tampa-based cybersecurity firm ReliaQuest, which leases 120,000 square feet in the tower.

ReliaQuest moved to Water Street from nearby Harbour Island.

“A comprehensive, highly amenitized office environment is the key to attract and retain talent today, and Thousand & One provides the best opportunity for this experience in Tampa,” David Bevirt, executive vice president of corporate strategy and leasing for SPP, said in a statement.