Masonite’s new headquarters in Ybor City, “The Mason Building.”

Masonite hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony at its corporate headquarters building in the Ybor City area of Tampa, Fla., last week. The building was completed in early 2020, and Masonite employees began working on site on a full time, flexible basis in the summer of 2021. The 56,000 square-foot facility is known to Masonite employees as “The Mason Building” in honor of the company’s founder, William H. Mason. It was designed by Ybor City’s Alfonso Architects and developed by Alliant Partners of Tampa with Darryl Shaw.

The building features a custom, 12-foot high, 525-pound, solid hardwood cross-laminated architectural door crafted by the company, and the new building contains more than 100 artisanal Masonite doors in a variety of styles and designs.

“We’re a 96-year-old company, and we’ve been growing here in Tampa almost 20 years. We love what’s happening in Tampa and in Ybor City, including the rich culture, history and diversity of the area. We’re happy to call this home,” said Howard Heckes, Masonite’s president and CEO.

Tampa mayor Jane Castor, Howard Heckes, Masonite president and CEO, and Lee Bell, president and CEO, Ybor City Chamber of Commerce, officially cut the ribbon on the Masonite Headquarters in Ybor City, Tampa, Fla.

The company also occupies the nearby former Larmon Furniture Warehouse. The two buildings comprise the Masonite headquarters campus and support approximately 470 employees. The Masonite headquarters campus includes a variety of open collaboration areas, a product showroom, dining patio and tiered seating in an atrium gathering space with an overhead glass door that opens to outdoor green space. The contemporary environment recognizes the evolving workplace and includes unique features for employees such as massage chairs, espresso/cappuccino machines, a gaming room, a nursing mothers’ room, gender neutral bathrooms, showers and adjustable-height desks and ergonomic chairs for all employees.

Local civic leaders were also in attendance at the ribbon cutting, including Tampa mayor Jane Castor, who said, “[As Tampa Mayor] It’s exciting for me to see this growth, but it’s also exciting for me on a personal level because I have been scanning through all of your pages, looking for that new front door with a sidelite.”