Commercial real estate off to a fast start across the region

While the potential of an economic downturn, including a slowdown in several commercial real estate sectors — maybe even multifamily? — looms large, 2023, at least from a deals perspective, is off to a busy start. Recent deals in the region this year and late last year include a nearly $30 million office sale in Tampa and a Virginia company paying $115 million for an apartment complex in Sarasota. 

A look at some of the details behind the most notable deals and announcements includes: 

Naples/Fort Myers

Who’s buying: An 11.43-acre parcel of property in Bonita Springs sold to an LLC with an address belonging to a Boca Raton law firm. The commercial property on Bonita Beach Road S.E. and Bonita Grande Drive brought $3.75 million. A RaceTrac gas station sits on the corner of the intersection with the sold property on either side of it. The buyer is Bonita Lots LLC, with a principal address on the state’s Division of Corporations database that matches that of the firm Horky Law.

Health care buy: A Bonita Springs LLC has bought a two-property portfolio in Naples. The properties, at 1004 and 1016 Collier Center Way, sold for $7.5 million, according to Premier Commercial in Bonita Springs. The buyer was Triple C Partners, an LLC whose address matches Solaris Healthcare’s in the state’s Division of Corporations database and on the company’s website. A broker who works for Premier and is one of Triple C’s owners, says the company moved out in November and that one of his partners is in the space. The seller was Klingler properties. 

Tampa/St. Petersburg

Office sale: Catalina Marketing has sold its 157,755-square-foot office building in Carillon Park for $29.5 million. But the long-time St. Petersburg marketing firm isn’t going anywhere. It has leased back space in the five-story building — how much hasn’t been publicly disclosed. Company CEO Wayne Powers says Catalina opted for a remote work model and will have “ample work and collaboration spaces when needed.” Carillon Park is a 432-acres development off Interstate 275 with 3.2 million square feet of office space.

Construction to start: Developers behind the new Tampa Electric headquarters building scheduled a ceremonial groundbreaking for Jan. 12. The new 18-story, 430,000-square-foot tower is being built in the nearly two-year old Midtown Tampa development. TECO is taking the top 11 floors and plans to move about 900 employees from its downtown home on Franklin Street sometime in 2025. Midtown is a 23-acre mixed use development in the city. The developer says office space on the property is 98% occupied.

Money to work: A major St. Petersburg development has secured $252 million in construction financing. Bank OZK has provided the financing to Red Apple Real Estate, the developer behind the Residences at 400 Central — a 47-story mixed-use tower under construction in downtown St. Petersburg. The money comes as construction on the tower is well underway, with 80% of steel-reinforced pilings in place. Residences at 400 will include 301 luxury condos, 40,000-square feet of office space and retail.

Rent-a-house: A new build-to-rent community has started leasing in Apollo Beach, a town between Tampa and Manatee County. The 82 units are being called single-family attached homes, which translates into townhouses. Units include two-car garages and fully fenced-fenced in backyards. The community, off U.S. 41, was built by Curve Development from Phoenix. The number of build-to-rent developments is growing fast across the region, especially with housing prices remaining high and renters seeking alternatives to traditional apartments.

Sarasota/Bradenton

Apartment sale: A Richmond, Virginia company has bought the Latitude 27 apartments in Sarasota. The company, an LLC with an address that matches the apartment management firm General Services Corp., paid $115 million for the complex at 5900 Wilkinson Rd. according to county property records. On its website, the complex, which is off of Cattlemen Road, shows one-, two- and three-bedroom units available with rents ranging from $1,805 to $4,045.  

Industrial times five: An 11-acre industrial portfolio in Sarasota has sold for $17.5 million. According to the SVN Commercial Advisory Group, which represented the seller, the portfolio was made up of five properties on Industrial Boulevard — 2210, 2230, 2363, 2383 and 2387. The total square footage for the buildings is 171,549 square feet. With 48,800 square feet of vacant land, the amount of space jumps to 220,000 square feet.

Five Points: WMG Development has bought a 12-story office tower and parking garage on the Five Points roundabout in downtown Sarasota. The company paid $24 million for the building. According to property records, the building was owned by an LLC with an address matching Zenith Insurance Co. The Winter Garden developer says in a statement that Zenith will stay as it “works to design and plan the best mix of uses to take this historic project into the future.” While details are not available, a spokeswoman says WMG has a working vision to make the best possible use of the building.