Tampa’s Primo Water relocates global headquarters to Midtown Tampa
Another one of Tampa Bay’s largest public companies is putting down roots in Midtown Tampa.
Primo Water, a water dispenser and refilling company that had revenues of nearly $2 billion in 2020, is moving its global headquarters from a 15,000-square-foot office on Boy Scout Boulevard to the $500 million development’s new Midtown West office building.
The company will lease 44,000 square feet on the top two floors of the eight-story, 152,000-square-foot building, Midtown West property managers Highwoods Properties said in a statement. About 125 of the company’s nearly 8,900 global employees will work in the Tampa office.
Just last month, another billion-dollar Tampa corporation, staffing and professional services firm Kforce, announced it was moving its headquarters from Ybor City to Midtown West.
“At Highwoods we understand that today’s workplace functions at its best when it is supported by an amenity-rich environment, and nothing exemplifies a full-service, dynamic office experience better than Midtown West,” Dan Woodward, Highwoods’ senior vice president and Tampa market leader, said in a statement. “Midtown’s vibrant mix of uses within a walkable urban fabric creates a talent magnet for customers that provides ample opportunities for their employees to create, collaborate and innovate, and we’re excited to welcome a distinguished company like Primo as a customer.”
It’s the second major office lease announced at Midtown in less than a week. Architecture firm Gresham Smith announced last week that it was moving its Tampa office from Harbour Island into 18,000 square feet at The Loft at Midtown Tampa.
In an interview last week, Nick Haines, CEO of Midtown developers the Bromley Companies, said multiple national and international corporations were in talks to move their offices to one of the development’s new buildings, which are surrounded by residences and attractions like an REI and a Whole Foods.
“We just have fantastic momentum,” Haines said.
Local companies such Kforce and Primo Water moving to Midtown was particularly gratifying.
“They know the market, they know where their employees live, they know every street in this market,” Haines said. “So for them to pick Midtown is a validation of what we’re offering.”
Primo Water began life as Cott Corp., a nearly century-old company that focused more on producing, bottling and distributing carbonated beverages and later coffee and tea. After selling off much of its soda business, it purchased North Carolina’s Primo Water in 2020, changed its name and pivoted the focus of the business to water dispensers, from the kind found in offices to personal, home-use devices.
