Commissioner Murman quoted in this Tampa Tribune article on Port:
BUSINESS NEWS
Port Tampa Bay marketing properties for lease
By Yvette C. Hammett | Tribune Staff
Published: June 16, 2015
TAMPA — A steel company that has leased land from Port Tampa Bay for years is expanding its footprint there and will become the second company in what port officials hope will eventually be a steel business cluster.
Port Tampa Bay is aggressively marketing 25 parcels available for lease and is devising a plan on how to coordinate its tenants to make maximum revenue. It has even set up a new section on its website listing all properties available for lease.
Kloeckner Metals Corp., which leases 4.5 acres on 22nd Street now for its metal distribution business, has outgrown its facility and will expand with a new lease on 12 undeveloped acres in Southbay, located in southern Hillsborough County.
“That’s all brand new revenue,” said Port Real Estate Director Lane Ramsfield. In the next six months or so, he said, the staff will reveal more specifics about its strategic plan for the other available port property.
Already, the port staff has unveiled plans for creating that steel cluster at Port Redwing, which started when it contracted with Tampa Tank Inc. and Florida Structural Steel in January. The company plans to construct a 120,000 square-foot building at Port Redwing and retrofit an existing 40,000 square-foot building there, adding 24 jobs at its headquarters in Ybor City and 84 jobs at Port Redwing.
Kloeckner receives steel straight from the mills, then sells it to fabricators. It has agreed to a 25-year lease with the port for a 144,000 square-foot facility. The port will make about $8 million in rent in the first decade, with rent increasing 1.5 percent per year for the remaining 15 years of the lease.
In return, the port will spend up to $10 million to build a warehouse, add a rail spur and utilities and complete other site work on the property.
At the request of Hillsborough County Commission Chairwoman Sandy Murman, who sits on the Tampa Port Authority Board, Ramsfield made a presentation to the port authority board Tuesday outlining where it owns real estate, what the land is used for and what land is still available for lease.
Port Tampa Bay, at 2,565 upland acres, has 277 acres up for grabs in various locations across the property. The majority of its land consists of spoil islands and conservation areas and while there are 56 undeveloped acres in Channelside, they are not for lease at this time.
“There is an extensive planning effort” in the works for Channelside, between the port’s own master plan for that area and Lightning owner Jeff Vinik’s plans for massive development in the downtown area. Ramsfield said specifics for the Channelside District will be revealed within the next year. With so many people having moved to the Channelside area there has been enormous value added to the real estate there, he said. “We are going to maximize that.”
The land available for lease is in areas now used by ship builders, manufacturers, petroleum companies, container operations or bulk distributors.
The property that will bring the highest revenue is in Hooker’s Point, Port Sutton and Eastport, with deep water access, Ramsfield said.
Raul Alfonso, executive vice president and chief commercial officer for the port, said his office is working closely with the Tampa Hillsborough Economic Development Corp. and other business development partners to attract new business that will create more jobs and fit in with the port’s future plans. He declined to reveal many details.
“A lot of these real estate deals have to stay confidential,” Murman said. “These companies want incentives. They don’t want people to know they are looking at a property.”
