Got a four-sided coin? If you wanted to flip one to decide where the most development has been occurring in Hillsborough County recently, that's what you would need. First, there's the I-75 Corridor, with its 1.5-million-square-foot Citicorp regional headquarters and an 800,000-square-foot corporate headquarters under construction by Highwoods Properties for Intermedia Communications.

But what about the 60 acres along Channelside Drive in downtown Tampa, with its 717-room Marriott hotel soon to open near the Tampa Convention Center, and the Channelside at Garrison Seaport entertainment complex emerging under the scrutiny of the Hogan Group? Northwest Hillsborough has been in the limelight with the opening of the new 1.2-million-square-foot Citrus Park Town Center and another 350,000-square-foot center across the street, both properties of Urban Retail Properties. And, fourth, there is Westshore, vying for the top spot with 400,000 square feet of Class A office space soon to open, a project of Crescent Resources Inc., plus the 1.1-million-square-foot International Plaza project, with high-end retailers Neiman Marcus, Lord & Taylor and Nordstrom.

Former Governor Bob Martinez, now chairman of the Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce Committee of 100 and director of government consulting for Carlton Fields, sums it up. "There's no doubt that the past 24 months have been just super for Tampa and Hillsborough County. We've not only had the Citibank and Chase Manhattan expansions, but General Motors is bringing a facility here. We have over 200 companies that are looking at relocating here. We hope to get our fair share as in the past."

One of those recently selecting Tampa for its corporate headquarters is Maritrans (NYSE:TUG) of Philadelphia. Recently awarded a shipyard contract at the port, the firm already has a 15-employee office here and currently employs 75 workers in Philadelphia. Altogether Maritrans employs 700. It transports more than 10 billion gallons of oil products in the western Gulf and Eastern Seaboard annually.

David Ruberg, chairman and CEO of Intermedia Communications Inc. (Nasdaq: ICIX), already has his mind set on Tampa. Currently operating in several facilities at Sabal Park in Brandon, the telecommunications company, which placed first in this year's Tampa Bay Fast 50 technology list, is gearing up to occupy its new 800,000-square-foot corporate headquarters in Highwoods Preserve at the northwest quadrant of I- 75 and Bruce B. Downs Boulevard.

"We started in Tampa. We chose to grow here and the overall environment has been supportive to grow this company to the size that it is," Ruberg says. "We've been able to attract talent to run the company and there is a dedicated, skilled labor force here."

As the Year 2000 parties are winding down, and fears of the Y2K issue are settled forevermore, Intermedia will begin consolidating in two of its four new corporate buildings which will house its administrative offices, a call center and support center with 2,000 employees.

"This will be a world-class facility in terms of an outstanding environment and employee amenities," says Jon Carter, the firm's senior director of corporate services. "But most importantly, it has been designed to be cost efficient."

The question that ultimately arose at Intermedia was whether Highwoods Properties would be able to continue to take care of its need for an expanded facility. Intermedia had previously entered into an expansion lease with Highwoods for a two-building, 240,000-square-foot headquarters at Sabal Park, and one of those buildings was under construction.

"Intermedia was rockin' and rollin' in Sabal Park," says Scott "Skipper" Peek, vice president at Highwoods. "Then they told us they had outgrown their current (planned) facility. They searched while we did due diligence and closed on the land (at Highwoods Preserve). They saw in this property all the qualities that we saw and we reached an agreement to terminate the lease in Sabal Park and build the larger campus in Highwoods Preserve."

Ruberg agrees. "This has been a beneficial relationship. We worked together on a growth plan two years ago and just blew through it. They facilitated getting us out of where we were and taking us to prime land."

Another benefit of the new location for Intermedia is proximity to the University of South Florida. "Wherever you go, a university drives technology," Ruberg says. "Silicon Valley has Stanford. Betty Castor (at USF) is only a phone call away."

Castor, who has served as president at USF for nearly six years, announced in July that she is leaving that position to lead the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards based in Michigan. "I hope they get someone to run the university that has as much vision as Betty did," says Ruberg. "What is driving industry today is people with skills, knowledge and the right entrepreneurial spirit. The university needs to continue that focus."

New Tampa

Not that many years ago the north section of the I-75 corridor, often referred to as New Tampa, was cow pastures. In the mid '80s developers of the Tampa Palms community built Bruce B. Downs Boulevard, connecting I-75 with the university area, opening vast acres to development. In the interim, high-quality single- and multi-family residential communities have sprouted up along with many retail centers.

In addition to Intermedia's corporate campus, Highwoods plans to develop another 650,000 square feet of office buildings in Highwoods Preserve. The retail component comprises a 20-screen Muvico theater and Ruby Tuesday restaurant being developed by Harrison Bennett Properties.

At I-75 and Fletcher Avenue Crescent Resources Inc. is adding a six-story, 150,000-square-foot Class A building in Hidden River Corporate Park. With that project and others throughout the county, including the 400,000-square-foot office building at International Plaza in Westshore, Crescent Resources is bringing 816,000 square feet of speculative Class A space on line. "We believe strongly in Tampa," says Joe Taggart, Crescent's Florida region vice president. "We've developed 416,000 square feet at Hidden River in two years."

One tenant at Hidden River is in the midst of a significant expansion. Bausch & Lomb Pharmaceuticals is adding a 37,000-square-foot laboratory and warehouse to its facility.

A 150-room Hilton Garden Inn is under construction at the neighboring Tampa Oaks business park, developed by Opus South Corporation. Tampa Oaks One, a 165,000-square-foot building in the business park, opened last fall.

Brandon

Closer to the I-4 interchange, Duke-Weeks Realty Corp. (NYSE:DRE) opened the 132,000-square-foot Highland Oaks office building, which at this writing was 61 percent occupied. The real estate investment trust is a recent merger between Atlanta-based Weeks Corp. and Duke Realty Corp. The REIT is currently doing site work on a second building at the Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Faulkenburg Road location. "It will be a mirror image of the first building," says Forrest Robinson, the firm's executive vice president. "They will share a common courtyard with walkways and a plaza area."

Among recent developments along the I-75 corridor in Brandon include the $250-million, 1.5-million-square-foot regional corporate center for Citicorp, considered one of the top 10 economic development deals in the world; a 77,000-square-foot, $25-million manufacturing facility for Sarasota-based Uniroyal Technology Corporation (Nasdaq: UTCI); a 100,000-square-foot technical support center for America OnLine, which will accommodate 750 employees at Software Spectrum, the company contracted by AOL; and a 300,000-square-foot regional call center for Progressive Insurance (NYSE:PGR) with 1,000 employees now and plans to accommodate a staff twice as large.

"There has been no other available land of this scope in Hillsborough County," says Bruce Drennan, president of the Brandon Chamber of Commerce. "We have access to I-4, I-75 and the Lee Roy Selmon Expressway, the port and rail."

The large corporate campuses sprouting along the corridor have had their impact. "We've seen a shift from bulk distribution and manufacturing toward suburban office and call centers," says Ed Miller with Colliers Arnold Commercial Real Estate Services Inc. "Sites that developers acquired originally to develop bulk distribution centers are going upscale. This has created a market for bulk distribution in Oak Creek, Riverview and Plant City."

Farther south along the corridor new construction includes a 120,000-square-foot steel distribution warehouse for Germany-based Preussag International, a 41,500-square-foot manufacturing facility for the Canariis Corporation, and a 222,000-square-foot distribution center for Premier Beverage.

Although National Gypsum has not yet chosen a final site for its planned $75-million facility, officials speculate that it will be in the south county area. "They'll be somewhere near the Big Bend TECO power plant," Martinez says. "They use a byproduct that comes from the generation of power."

Plant City

Plant City is reveling in mixing agriculture and entertainment. "Straw-berries and softball, that's sweet success," says Randy Larsen, a former mayor. He's referring to the relocation of the headquarters of the International Softball Federation with 111 members worldwide. The final hurdle in the relocation was completed recently when the board of county commissioners unanimously approved to continue to fund Plant City stadium three years beyond the original agreement.

"This stadium is an incredible asset in East Hillsborough," Larsen says. "Sitting empty, there is no return on investment. We're ready to put the stadium back into use for tourism development."

While the city is busy renovating the stadium, it is also building itself a new $5.2-million, 40,000-square-foot city hall. And to take advantage of Plant City's access to the Orlando and Tampa markets, Loftin Real Estate Inc. has recently completed a 100,000-square-foot speculative industrial building in a 585-acre commerce center on County Line Road at U.S. Highway 92.

Mid County

The converted East Lake Mall, now called netp@rk.tampabay, with a million square feet of office space, has attracted General Motors to set up its Tampa call center, the first of three call centers nationwide designed to consolidate the car maker's customer service function. The other two call centers will be in Austin, Texas, and Portland, Ore. Baltimore-based Sitel Corp. (NYSE: SWW), which manages call centers in 18 countries around the world, will operate the Tampa office.

"The decision to locate in Tampa was made by General Motors," says Jim Jacobson, Sitel's director of investor relations. "They're leasing the facility and we're managing the operation. We have about 750 employees."

And the nation's oldest brewery decided on Tampa when it recently took over the Stroh brewery adjacent to USF. "We got word that Stroh was shutting down its Tampa plant and we went after it," says Dave Casinelli, an executive vice president with Yuengling Brewery, based in Pottsville, Pa. "This plant is the ideal size and in a good location for us to open up the southeast market."

The company, celebrating its 170th anniversary this year, will employ 30 "brewmeisters" in Tampa and produce 200,000 barrels a year initially. "We're working on becoming Tampa's hometown beer," says Casinelli.

Speculative space under development includes a 90,000-square-foot Class A office building in WestLake Corporate Center, developed by Trammell Crow, and two buildings at 54,000 square feet each in Airport Commerce Center developed by EastGroup Properties. "They're built and almost fully occupied," says Nancy Phaneuf, the firm's vice president of marketing. "The post office relocated a bulk mail facility to one building."

Another two buildings totaling 172,000 square feet are being developed by First Industrial Realty Trust in the Sweetwater Business Center. Superior Insurance plans to occupy 34,000 square feet at Thompson Center Waters. And the REIT is working on another 42,000-square-foot speculative building. "This is an area we feel strongly about, with its proximity to the airport and major population areas," says Ross Kirk, the REIT's regional director.

This vibrant market has also attracted Tropical Sportswear. "They have a large facility at Waters Avenue," says Raymond Frazier, president of the Greater Town & Country Area Chamber of Commerce Inc. "They hire a lot of Latinos who don't speak English and have developed Tropical University to offer English and computer courses."

Frazier adds that while the majority of the chamber's members are small businesses, "the last few years we've seen major corporations come here. There are very interesting possibilities in terms of developable land for large companies."

Northwest Hillsborough

Chicago-based Urban Shopping Centers Inc. (NYSE:URB) has developed a huge chunk of land in Citrus Park into the 1.1-million-square-foot Citrus Park Town Center that opened in March. The firm earlier developed Brandon Town Center.

"We have had strong numbers at Citrus Park Town Center," says Matthew S. Dominski, the firm's president and chief executive officer. "We had our first million visitors in 18 days and have averaged 225,000 people a week since traffic has stabilized from the grand opening. When we opened Brandon Town Center, it also beat our expectations but not by as much. If that was an eight, then Citrus Park has been a nine." The firm is currently building a 350,000-square-foot community center across the street.

Urban's attraction to Hillsborough County is "an overall reasonable cost of living and good quality of life," Dominski says. "There hadn't been a new mall built in many years prior to Brandon Town Center. For a town of that size not to have a new mall was a situation that was attractive to us. For developing the second mall, we knew the lay of the land with the county officials. These people are good at what they do."

AP-Adler Investment Fund L.P., a real estate investment trust based in Miami, has shown its confidence in the Oldsmar area, with the purchase of the 20.5-acre Tri-County business park, a 20-building, 675,000-square-foot business park that is 94-percent occupied. Nearby, developer Randy Mears has completed Mears Commerce Center and opened LynMar Commerce Park at Racetrack Road.