SkyCenter One

Introduction

The Tampa Bay commercial real estate market is growing, so more office space is in the pipeline. Additionally, the needs in the office environment are changing. From offering hybrid positions to blended workspaces, transforming traditional commercial office real estate is top of mind with many designers. 

VanTrust Real Estate envisioned the SkyCenter development to be different when they broke ground in 2019. Partnering with HOK and JE Dunn, VanTrust wanted SkyCenter One to stand apart from other Tampa Bay office buildings by offering top-end amenities. With its central location, SkyCenter One would be the first commercial office building linked to the Airport through an elevated pedestrian walkway connecting the adjacent atrium to the SkyConnect train station.

The  Story

Creating a unique office space that centered around amenities, the team added to the challenge by incorporating sustainability as a top priority with the goal of becoming Tampa Bay’s first LEED Platinum Certified building, the highest ranking issued by the U.S. Green Building Council. The resulting design features a nine-story building with more than 270,000-square-feet offering a conference center, fitness center, and a healthy dining café. Adding to the many amenities offered inside the new facility, the exterior landscaping includes access to multipurpose trails that will join with Tampa Bay’s regional trail network.

Through a short hallway from the lobby area, the building features a nearly 6,000 square-foot fitness center, complete with about three dozen pieces of equipment and men and women’s locker rooms with showers. To create a relaxed, modern wood look for the showers, the design team specified Crossville’s Nest collection in the beautiful mindful oak and peaceful oak hues. Authentically replicating a refined woodgrain appearance in a durable porcelain tile body yet also answering the high-performance requirements of commercial interiors, the designers chose Crossville’s Nest in the 6” x 36” planks for the shower walls. For the shower floors, the team installed Crossville’s Nest in the Mindful Oak mosaic which provides additional slip resistance compared to the longer planks.

For the restrooms, the design team specifically wanted modern and sophisticated products and chose Crossville’s State of Grace marble-look porcelain countertop slabs. With gentle stone veining of grays, blacks and browns, State of Grace is a durable porcelain tile alternative to true marble that offers easy maintenance and eliminates worries of staining and chipping that are common when using the natural stone. Crossville’s porcelain countertop slabs are fabricated for a 2″ thick appearance and were installed with a squared-eased edge for a contemporary style in the traditional look of marble.