The consolidation of Masonite International's two locations in Tampa, Florida, into one building in Ybor City provided a boost to the historic district's office market.
Masonite, a provider of interior and exterior doors and door systems for the construction industry, began its search for a new headquarters in early 2024 and quickly zeroed in on a Class A office building known as West End Place at 1001 E. Palm Ave. represented by CBRE.
However, to make the lease happen, Masonite and its tenant representative, Cushman & Wakefield, faced the challenge of addressing the firm's existing non-co-terminus leases, which are lease agreements where the lease terms do not expire or terminate at the same time. This made it especially challenging to negotiate terms and the timing for leasing the entire West End Place building.
In addition to seeking a spot to have all of its employees in one building, Masonite simultaneously was working to find a location that provided better parking and room to expand. Cushman & Wakefield and Masonite were able to execute a plan to consolidate its two locations, deal with the tenant's existing lease obligations and expand its footprint.
Masonite's transaction at West End Place won the 2025 CoStar Impact Award for Lease of the Year in Tampa/St. Petersburg as judged by real estate professionals familiar with the market.
Masonite is a global company that operates 64 manufacturing and distribution facilities, mostly in North America. It has more than 10,000 employees worldwide. In May, Masonite was acquired by Owens Corning.
About the project/deal: Masonite signed a long-term lease for its headquarters in the 128,264-square-foot West End Place building owned by Tampa-based Alliant Partners. The building's onsite amenities include a 4,200-square-foot fitness center, cafeteria and an outdoor sports court with pickleball.
What the judges said: "This took a large block of space off the market and kept Ybor City’s momentum going. It also was complicated, given the two leases that they had previously that were not co-terminus." said Caleb Lewis, an executive managing director at JLL.
Lauren Coup, senior director of leasing at Highwoods Properties, said, "This was a complex deal with many moving pieces to the transaction with different expirations. This is also a big deal for Ybor to retain this caliber of tenant and the size of this deal is one of the larger ones signed last year."
Quinn Eddins, managing director of U.S. research and analytics at Greystar Real Estate Partners, said, "The complexity of the transaction alone makes it an extraordinary achievement. Masonite’s headquarters previously spanned two separate buildings with non-co-terminus leases—an operational challenge that limited efficiency, parking and future growth."
Matt Mitchell, a senior managing director at Berkadia Real Estate Advisors, said, "Ybor City has a deep history, rich culture and architectural significance, but the neighborhood has failed to live up to its potential, in my opinion. Now, with significant investments underway, Ybor is gaining momentum. Big office leases like the Masonite deal will retain and grow jobs, which is a critical factor to the long-term success and evolution of the Ybor City neighborhood."
They made it happen: Scott Garlick, executive vice presidentent, CBRE, who was at Cushman & Wakefield at time of deal; Nicole Arwood, project management director, Cushman & Wakefield; Ryan Reynolds, senior vice president, CBRE; Jackson Kilcoyne, first vice president, CBRE; Jimmy Garvey, senior vice president, CBRE; Darryl Shaw, building owner; Frank Capitano, chairman, Radiant Group, ownership; Spencer Muratides, director of acquisitions and development, Alliant Partners, ownership; Russ Tiejema, executive vice president and chief financial officer, U.S. LBM, served in same role at Masonite when lease was executed; Chris Heafner, senior global capital sourcing - capital delivery, Owens Corning.