Hurricane Irma passed east of the Tampa Bay area between Sunday afternoon and Monday morning. Although Tampa was spared the devastating effects of a direct hit, the storm’s impact was significant, affecting everyone in the region in some way. Most of the area’s buildings lost power at least temporarily, and some (including our own office) were without power for a few days.
As of this afternoon, power has been restored at all virtually KI properties and building systems are coming back online with only a few (and relatively minor) inconveniences remaining. These include a handful of trees and limbs down, isolated HVAC outages, some phone lines not yet responding, minor or cosmetic damage to be repaired, and general yard and tree debris to be removed.
We’d like to thank our tenants for the patience and cooperation shown through this challenging time, and ask for their continued patience while our staff and vendors work to return the properties to normal.
We’d also like to thank and congratulate our outstanding staff, who worked with our loyal vendors late into the nights and through the weekend to secure properties before the storm. During and after the hurricane, they immediately responded to property issues and tenant needs as soon as quickly as possible under the circumstances.
Many of our staff performed this work in spite of being evacuated from their homes and suffering power, water, internet and telephone outages, both at home and at work, for days. We are extremely proud of the personal sacrifices our employees made to care for our tenants and get them back up and running as quickly as possible.
Here is a status report the major KI owned and managed properties:
- KI Bayview – Back up and running yesterday; one light pole down and a couple of trees down, mostly on the perimeter. Clean-up in progress.
- Twin Lakes – Power was restored at 12:11 this afternoon; some isolated HVAC outages remain, but no damage has been observed and property clean up is in progress.
- Orange Grove Commerce Park – Power restored this afternoon; building was closed until elevators, access controls and emergency communications could be resumed. OGCP is now open but we will be removing a downed tree limb, repairing a handful of pole light fixtures, performing a general clean up, and monitoring reports from tenants as they return to their spaces.
- Hanna Warehouse I – Power is back on; minor damage which mostly effected the outbuilding, and temporary HVAC outage. One skylight missing which has already been covered. Repairs and maintenance in progress.
- Hanna Warehouse II – No reports of damage or significant outages resulting in business disruption at this property thus far.
- Henderson Building & related South Tampa offices – Reports of minor leaks being investigated now. No observable damage or significant outages or disruption.
- Hobbs Warehouse Condos – No significant damage reports thus far. Minor drainage improvements will be evaluated.
- Skyway Business Centers I & II – Damage to a non-structural exterior awning structure.
- Celebration Storage – Site unaffected; construction scheduled to begin Monday 9/25. No delays anticipated at this time.
- Remaining properties – no significant damage or outages reported.
We apologize for any inconveniences experienced by our tenants and their customers. Please report any additional maintenance needs to your property manager. We are pleased that the storm’s effects were not more drastic, and are proud that our team and precautions stood up to this test.
In parts of Tampa Bay, intersection traffic lights remain inoperable, electricity has not been restored, trees are down, and many of our citizens are physically, emotionally and financially stressed. Post-hurricane accidents and injuries are being widely reported, and we ask that our tenants and their employees exercise extreme caution and patience as they return to the roadways and their offices.
Thank you,
Kennedy Investments, Inc.