
Denholtz Associates Receives CREW Tampa Bay Excellence Award for Renovation Project at Landmark Downtown St. Petersburg Office Building
Denholtz Associates is proud to announce that their renovation project at their 238,699-square-foot office building located at 490 First Avenue in St. Petersburg, Florida, has been awarded the 2018 Commercial Real Estate Women (CREW) Tampa Bay Construction Renovation Excellence Award. Completed earlier this year, the two-year, $9 million renovation project transformed the building’s exterior and interior to reposition the outdated, single-tenant space into a modern, multi-tenant office building, meeting the needs of a variety of businesses in the area.
Denholtz Associates identified a unique opportunity with 490 First Avenue, an eight-floor, Class-A office building located in downtown St. Petersburg’s fast-growing market. When Denholtz acquired the property in 2016, the building’s occupancy stood at only 46 percent, with its primary tenant, The Tampa Bay Times, occupying 110,000 square feet. Given its long-standing use by a single tenant, the building was not configured to appeal to multiple tenants or match the evolving needs of the local market.
Denholtz quickly initiated an extensive interior and exterior improvement plan aimed at increasing flexibility and adding amenities that today’s tenants demand. Upgrades included a renovated lobby, the addition of a fitness center and cafe, remodeled restrooms (including an ADA-compliant restroom), new common corridors, and an update to the building’s landscaping and exterior fixtures.
The renovation of 490 First Avenue posed significant challenges due to its age and structure. The building comprises three connected structures constructed between 1924 and 1988, with separate systems and construction styles that required integration to create a cohesive space. Denholtz undertook uniform system upgrades throughout, replacing HVAC systems, upgrading sprinkler piping, installing new LED lighting, and creating new ceilings to align all three sections of the building seamlessly.
“Renovating a 240,000-square-foot office building is never an easy task. With nearly half the building occupied and infrastructure dating back nearly a century, 490 First Avenue presented unique challenges,” said Steven Denholtz, CEO of Denholtz Associates. “This project’s success would not have been possible without the support and vision of The Tampa Bay Times and Convergent Capital, and we thank them for partnering with us to restore 490 First Avenue to its place as a downtown St. Petersburg landmark.”
The success of the project was evident early on, as Taylor Media, the country’s fastest-growing private media company, secured a long-term lease for 22,682 square feet of office space. Taylor Media’s build-out was also selected as a finalist for CREW Tampa Bay’s Excellence Awards in the Interior Renovation category. Since the renovation, Denholtz has nearly doubled occupancy, and the building is now close to full occupancy, with a diverse range of tenants enhancing 490 First Avenue’s role as a key hub in St. Petersburg’s downtown.