April 6, 2026 • 6 mins
One of Tampa's iconic downtown buildings is under new ownership. Tampa's Rivergate Tower (jokingly nicknamed the Beer Can building) is known for its cylinder shape and its Fibonacci spaced windows and tiles, among other things. We speak with Grant Werbeck, Chief Operating Officer of Ally Capital Group and part of the new team, about what's ahead for the downtown landmark.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Gordon Bird here with Beyond the News. One of downtown
Tampa's landmark buildings has new ownership. It's Rivergate Tower. It's
that cylindrical building right alongside the Hillsboro River. Four hundred
North Ashley Drive is the address some of you may
know it informally as the Beer Can Building. It is distinctive,
no doubt about that. And it has new ownership that's
(00:21):
making plans to kind of integrate it more so into
downtown as it gets more vibrant. Grant Werbeck is chief
operating officer with Alli Capitol Group, which is based in Tampa.
They're one of the two companies that are acquiring the
river Gate Tower. And Grant Warbeck thank you very much
for joining us.
Speaker 2 (00:40):
Thank you, Gordon. Pleasure to partake with you. Guys. Thank you.
Speaker 1 (00:44):
You're partnering, of course with Banyan Street and you of
course are based in Tampa. You know the tower is
a distinctive part of the skyline here. What is telling
you and your partners that this is a great investment
for the future.
Speaker 2 (00:58):
Well, Tampa as a whole. Gordon has really been on
a growth trajectory unlike any market in the country, and
with that is you know, iconic structures that define the
skyline and define the city. River Gate Tower is one
of those iconic, timeless assets. You know, you talked a
little bit about the unique structure and its overall location.
(01:24):
Real estate investing is really going back, you know, one
oh one two location, location location. This asset right at
the bend of the river walk, right at the bend
of the river is really positioned well to capitalize on
that central business district growth that Tampa has seen over
(01:45):
the last five plus years and will continue to see.
Speaker 1 (01:48):
Now you and Ban Yen are planning to invest a
lot of money and upgrades for the building and also
the courtyard around it. And that's an important point as well,
I'm sure because as you realize, river Gate Tower was
in the nineteen eighties and downtown Tampa back then was
built around cars and commuting, and you have plans to
try to plug into the really wholly different vibe that's
(02:09):
going on downtown now.
Speaker 2 (02:11):
Well, you know, Gorg, you really see all of the
development that's that's happening, you know downtown obviously, you know,
the Water Street project has really put Tampa on the
map from an institutional you know, real estate perspective, and
you know, all around that in the growth of the
central business district, you know, continues to you know improve
(02:35):
and expand you know, Tampa is becoming a very outdoor city,
you know, the walkability nature of it in you know,
one of the largest you know, continuous uh you know
along the river you know path in the country is
something that we feel as a real opportunity just to
activate the space. You have Kylie Gardens there, which is
(02:59):
a very unique you know, public space you know, to
enjoy and we're really looking forward to integrate into that
public space and right along the river walk. You know,
we have iconic hospitality uh in our building UH, and
we look to you know, benefit off of that and
(03:20):
expand you know directly into an outdoor you know, dining
experience and continue to enhance some of the retail components
you know in the project, uh to be able you know,
to to complement that well of an indoor outdoor living lifestyle.
Speaker 1 (03:36):
Now for your tenants, of course, you are also doing
upgrades on the corridors and other amenities and uh with
the suites and all of that. So if you want
to fill us in on some of the ideas you have.
Speaker 2 (03:48):
There absolutely, you know, you're you're just aligning with what
the market wants. Gordon and today it's really a flight
to quality story among you know, office projects and off
as tenants. Uh you know, COVID has changed the dynamic
of what tenants are looking for in certain projects, you know,
(04:08):
and and a lot of the enhancements and just modernizing
what some of those tenants want today, you know, whether
it's the amenity base of you know, gym and conference
centers as well as tenant lounges. But in modernizing the
corridors and even having an opportunity you know of spec
(04:28):
suite options for smaller space that tenants could come in
and have turn key ready. Uh So we're excited to
bring that opportunity to the market as well, just to
make sure to stay on top of the supply and
demand story, you know, across tenants and office projects.
Speaker 1 (04:46):
People who go by Rivergate Tower and thousands of people
do every day a couple of things that they may
not realize. Of course. It is one of the tallest
limestone structures in the world and the windows in the
building follow a unique pattern. Tell us about that.
Speaker 2 (05:01):
Yeah, so you know, the pattern essentially in the bisure.
The building measurements the architect, famous architect Harry Wolfe, you know,
measure the building to follow a Fibonacci ratio or a
Fibonacci sequence, and wolf really based the towers, you know,
radius four heights and overall proportions on that sequence where
(05:23):
each number is the sum of the previous two. So
the window sizes increase in Fibonacci progression where each window
pane and each tile in the lobby is slightly larger
than the one next to it following that Fibonacci scaling.
So you're looking at a tower that hayes that has
eighteen hundred and eighty windows, and they're spacing and sizing
(05:47):
reflect that Fibonacci based numerical patterns. So it's absolutely a
unique piece of art from an architecture standpoint. You did
mention it is the largest limestone structure project in the
world currently.
Speaker 1 (06:04):
And certainly a landmark in Tampa, and certainly we're looking
forward to hearing a lot more about that building and
some of the things you have planned. Grant Werbeck is
chief operating officer of Ally Capital Group based in Tampa,
and they're part of a partnership that is taking over
the Rivergate Tower building on Ashley Drive downtown. Thank you
(06:27):
very much for joining us on Beyond the News.
Speaker 2 (06:29):
Thank you Gordon, it was a pleasure appreciate it.
Gordon Bird here with Beyond the News. One of downtown
Tampa's landmark buildings has new ownership. It's Rivergate Tower. It's
that cylindrical building right alongside the Hillsboro River. Four hundred
North Ashley Drive is the address some of you may
know it informally as the Beer Can Building. It is distinctive,
no doubt about that. And it has new ownership that's
(00:21):
making plans to kind of integrate it more so into
downtown as it gets more vibrant. Grant Werbeck is chief
operating officer with Alli Capitol Group, which is based in Tampa.
They're one of the two companies that are acquiring the
river Gate Tower. And Grant Warbeck thank you very much
for joining us.
Speaker 2 (00:40):
Thank you, Gordon. Pleasure to partake with you. Guys. Thank you.
Speaker 1 (00:44):
You're partnering, of course with Banyan Street and you of
course are based in Tampa. You know the tower is
a distinctive part of the skyline here. What is telling
you and your partners that this is a great investment
for the future.
Speaker 2 (00:58):
Well, Tampa as a whole. Gordon has really been on
a growth trajectory unlike any market in the country, and
with that is you know, iconic structures that define the
skyline and define the city. River Gate Tower is one
of those iconic, timeless assets. You know, you talked a
little bit about the unique structure and its overall location.
(01:24):
Real estate investing is really going back, you know, one
oh one two location, location location. This asset right at
the bend of the river walk, right at the bend
of the river is really positioned well to capitalize on
that central business district growth that Tampa has seen over
(01:45):
the last five plus years and will continue to see.
Speaker 1 (01:48):
Now you and Ban Yen are planning to invest a
lot of money and upgrades for the building and also
the courtyard around it. And that's an important point as well,
I'm sure because as you realize, river Gate Tower was
in the nineteen eighties and downtown Tampa back then was
built around cars and commuting, and you have plans to
try to plug into the really wholly different vibe that's
(02:09):
going on downtown now.
Speaker 2 (02:11):
Well, you know, Gorg, you really see all of the
development that's that's happening, you know downtown obviously, you know,
the Water Street project has really put Tampa on the
map from an institutional you know, real estate perspective, and
you know, all around that in the growth of the
central business district, you know, continues to you know improve
(02:35):
and expand you know, Tampa is becoming a very outdoor city,
you know, the walkability nature of it in you know,
one of the largest you know, continuous uh you know
along the river you know path in the country is
something that we feel as a real opportunity just to
activate the space. You have Kylie Gardens there, which is
(02:59):
a very unique you know, public space you know, to
enjoy and we're really looking forward to integrate into that
public space and right along the river walk. You know,
we have iconic hospitality uh in our building UH, and
we look to you know, benefit off of that and
(03:20):
expand you know directly into an outdoor you know, dining
experience and continue to enhance some of the retail components
you know in the project, uh to be able you know,
to to complement that well of an indoor outdoor living lifestyle.
Speaker 1 (03:36):
Now for your tenants, of course, you are also doing
upgrades on the corridors and other amenities and uh with
the suites and all of that. So if you want
to fill us in on some of the ideas you have.
Speaker 2 (03:48):
There absolutely, you know, you're you're just aligning with what
the market wants. Gordon and today it's really a flight
to quality story among you know, office projects and off
as tenants. Uh you know, COVID has changed the dynamic
of what tenants are looking for in certain projects, you know,
(04:08):
and and a lot of the enhancements and just modernizing
what some of those tenants want today, you know, whether
it's the amenity base of you know, gym and conference
centers as well as tenant lounges. But in modernizing the
corridors and even having an opportunity you know of spec
(04:28):
suite options for smaller space that tenants could come in
and have turn key ready. Uh So we're excited to
bring that opportunity to the market as well, just to
make sure to stay on top of the supply and
demand story, you know, across tenants and office projects.
Speaker 1 (04:46):
People who go by Rivergate Tower and thousands of people
do every day a couple of things that they may
not realize. Of course. It is one of the tallest
limestone structures in the world and the windows in the
building follow a unique pattern. Tell us about that.
Speaker 2 (05:01):
Yeah, so you know, the pattern essentially in the bisure.
The building measurements the architect, famous architect Harry Wolfe, you know,
measure the building to follow a Fibonacci ratio or a
Fibonacci sequence, and wolf really based the towers, you know,
radius four heights and overall proportions on that sequence where
(05:23):
each number is the sum of the previous two. So
the window sizes increase in Fibonacci progression where each window
pane and each tile in the lobby is slightly larger
than the one next to it following that Fibonacci scaling.
So you're looking at a tower that hayes that has
eighteen hundred and eighty windows, and they're spacing and sizing
(05:47):
reflect that Fibonacci based numerical patterns. So it's absolutely a
unique piece of art from an architecture standpoint. You did
mention it is the largest limestone structure project in the
world currently.
Speaker 1 (06:04):
And certainly a landmark in Tampa, and certainly we're looking
forward to hearing a lot more about that building and
some of the things you have planned. Grant Werbeck is
chief operating officer of Ally Capital Group based in Tampa,
and they're part of a partnership that is taking over
the Rivergate Tower building on Ashley Drive downtown. Thank you
(06:27):
very much for joining us on Beyond the News.
Speaker 2 (06:29):
Thank you Gordon, it was a pleasure appreciate it.
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