Park Tower (formerly known as the Lykes Building) is a

skyscraper A skyscraper is a tall continuously habitable building having multiple floors. Modern sources currently define skyscrapers as being at least or in height, though there is no universally accepted definition. Skyscrapers are very tall high-ris ...

located in downtown

Tampa, Florida Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and ...

. It is Tampa's first high-rise tower. At the time of its completion in November 1973, it was the tallest in Florida, and is currently sixth-tallest in Tampa, at (36 stories). It was the tallest building in Tampa until

One Tampa City Center One Tampa City Center, formerly known as GTE Center and Verizon Building, is an office skyscraper in Tampa, Florida. It was the tallest building in the state for three years and the tallest building in the city until the completion of the Bank o ...

was built in 1981.

Description

Park Tower is located in the heart of downtown Tampa directly across from The Tampa Riverwalk & Hillsborough River; Curtis Hixon and Gaslight Parks; the Glazer Children's Museum and the

Tampa Museum of Art The Tampa Museum of Art is located in downtown Tampa, Florida. It exhibits modern and contemporary art, as well as Greek, Roman, and Etruscan antiquities. The museum was founded in 1979 and debuted an award-winning new building in 2010 just north ...

. It is within walking distance of the

Tampa Convention Center The Tampa Convention Center is a mid-sized convention center located in downtown Tampa, Florida at the mouth of the Hillsborough River. It has both waterfront views of Tampa Bay and views of the city's skyline. Harbour Island is across the epony ...

University of Tampa The University of Tampa (UT) is a private university in Tampa, Florida. It is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. UT offers more than 200 programs of study, including 22 master's degrees and a broad variety of majors, ...

, and the David A. Straz Jr. Center for the Performing Arts. In 2016 the tower was purchased by a joint venture consisting of affiliates of NYSE listed City Office REIT (NYSE: CIO), Feldman Equities LLC, and Tower Realty Partners for $79.75 million. The group completed a multi-million-dollar renovation in 2019. The most significant change at Park Tower is the modernization of the office building's façade by painting the exterior a lighter color and upgrading the main entrance. The building's amenities were upgraded with a modern lobby and the addition of Buddy Brew Coffee café. The office tower's updated design was created by internationally renowned architect Gensler. Since acquiring the property, leases have been signed including the headquarters relocation of CAPTRUST Advisors, LLC, Buddy Brew Coffee and Continuity Logic, LLC. Anchor tenants include BB&T, United States Department of Justice – US Attorney's Office, Level 3 Communications and Lykes Insurance. Park Tower is LEED EB Gold Certified and EPA Energy Star certified. The tower's amenities and businesses include FedEx Office, U.S. Post Office, Grow Financial Credit Union, Pearl Salon, Nature's Table Café, a fitness center, conference room and a 6th-floor tenant lounge, lobby concierge and Buddy Brew Coffee. The building has two underground 13.2kV electrical feeds from the utility power company, one of which is from the high-priority medical grid and multiple diverse entry points for fiber optic and other data cabling. Park Tower is home to a large underground Federal Reserve Vault. The building also features video-enhanced 24x7x365 on-site security.

History

When it was originally built, the tower was the home of The First National Bank of Tampa, later First National Bank of Florida (First Florida Corporation). Park Tower was also the headquarters of the Lykes Brothers Corporation. The tower was purchased by Sterling American Property of New York City for $27.4 million in 2006 and underwent its first restoration including newly renovated elevators, air conditioning, and replacement of much of the electrical distribution system. The building later became the downtown Tampa headquarters of Colonial Bank, now

BB&T BB&T Corporation (previously known as the Branch Banking and Trust Company) was one of the largest banking and financial services firms in the United States, based in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. In 2019, BB&T announced its intentions to merge ...

. As part of BB&T's merger with

SunTrust SunTrust Banks, Inc. was an American bank holding company with SunTrust Bank as its largest subsidiary and assets of US$199 billion as of March 31, 2018. The bank's most direct corporate parent was established in 1891 in Atlanta, where it was h ...

to become Truist, BB&T closed their offices in Park Tower in January 2021. The company consolidated their footprint into the nearby Truist Place.

References

External links

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Photos of Park Tower under construction in 1972
{{s-end Skyscraper office buildings in Tampa, Florida 1973 establishments in Florida Office buildings completed in 1973

Description

History

See also

References

External links