Real Estate Briefs (Sara/Mana edition)

Real Estate Briefs (Sara/Mana edition)

RPM Exotics hits

governmental snag

Bradenton entrepreneur George Rucker bought two offices buildings and a parking lot at 2411 and 2407 14th St. W., Bradenton, from NB Properties for $375,000.

He planned to run an Internet-based exotic car dealership from the location, but the plan hit a snag early on, he says, adding, "The city told me that the special permit that would be required to operate there would take a year to get."

Instead, Rucker has bought property elsewhere for his business, he says. "I guess instead of a nice dealership on 14th Street, the city would prefer the drug dealers."

The two 14th Street office buildings are occupied by a daycare facility and an after-market motorcycle shop. No space is available.

Rucker, part owner of RPM Exotics, used the corporate name of Vandelay Holdings LLC for the purchase. He mortgaged the property to NB Properties and Martin and Nancy Erickson for $325,000.

Heritage Harbour developer

buys land from dairy farm

Lennar/U.S. Home used the corporate name of Heritage Harbour Development LLC to buy 300 acres of grazing land on Upper Manatee River Road from Moores Dairy Farm Inc. for $8.66 million. That's nearly $29,000 per acre.

The property will allow the company to expand the mixed-use master-planned community Heritage Harbour, located east of Interstate 75 and north of State Road 64, Bradenton. It is near the Stoneybook community in Heritage Harbour and Waterlefe. No plans have yet been announced for the additional property.

Parsons Insurance

buys office building

The Allstate franchise Parsons Insurance Agency Inc. purchased a 3,100-square-foot office building at 6455 Gateway Ave., Sarasota, from Chancellor Insurance Inc. for $540,000.

Tom Parsons bought the building for his son, Chris, who is opening an insurance office, says Tom Parsons, adding, "With interest rates the way they are it was cheaper than having him lease it."

The rest of the space will be leased. The building has two other vacancies for a total of about 2,300 square feet available.

"We are look at updating the building and addiing new landscaping," Parsons says.

Parsons Insurance Agency Inc. mortgaged the property to Suncoast Bank for $432,000.

Michael Saunders & Co.

records $2.57 billion in sales

Sarasota-based Michael Saunders & Co.'s annual volume for 2004 jumped 28.4% to $2.57 billion, the company reported.

With 13 offices and more than 400 sales associates serving Sarasota, Manatee and Charlotte counties, MS&C closed 5,633 transactions in 2004. Residential sales accounted for 94.73% of the total volume increase in 2004. The average sales price was $456,207, a 12.4% increase from 2003.

HMA buys

Venice hospital

Naples-based Health Management Associates Inc. (HMA), which owns Charlotte Regional Medical Center in Punta Gorda, among others, has completed its purchase of Bon Secours Venice Hospital and its land for about $75 million, according to Sarasota County property records.

The purchase was one of three hospitals HMA purchased from Bon Secours, which included the 212-bed Bon Secours St. Joseph's Hospital, located in Port Charlotte, and the 133-bed Bon Secours St. Mary's Hospital in Norton, Va.

The deal materialized last August when HMA and Bon Secours signed a letter of intent. The transaction was firmed up by a definitive agreement two months later. The Venice property is a 312-bed hospital.

"With this acquisition, HMA will be in the range of its fiscal 2005 acquisition objective of acquiring between four and six hospitals," says Joseph Vumbacco, president and chief executive officer of HMA. "The Bon Secours Venice and St. Joseph's hospitals are located in Southwest Florida, in areas which we believe will continue to grow, particularly for the delivery of services to favorable demographic segments. These two Florida hospitals will also help HMA build a strategic southwest Florida network encompassing the counties of Collier, Lee, Charlotte and Sarasota."

HMA operates 56 hospitals in 16 states with about 8,203 licensed beds.

Investors buy Indian

Beach apartments

Chicago real-estate investors Colin Hebson and Tom Eggers purchased the 22-unit apartment complex, at 1052 Indian Beach Drive, Sarasota, from Jean Boyd, individual and trustee, for $2.15 million.

The Indian Beach purchase is Hebson and Eggers third apartment purchase in the county since October. In October, the investors, who use the corporate name of Tomcol LLC, bought a 14-unit apartment complex, at 2050 Hillview St., Sarasota, from Montlea Dunne LLC for $1.15 million. And in January, Tomcol closed on an 18-unit townhome development, at 8902 Silkwood, Sarasota, from CJB Property Development LLC for $2.5 million.

Tomcol mortgaged the property to the former owner for $1 million and to Century Bank for $950,000.

Etc...

• Bradenton-based Bruce Williams Homes, Manatee County's most active locally based home builder, will start construction in February of the last two townhomes and villa buildings in the first phase at Lexington located in Parrish, off U.S. 301 and east of Chin Road in Manatee. There will be a total of 96 townhomes and villas in Lexington.

• Lauren Crist from Inside Eden, a garden room design company that sells fountains, furnishings and accessories, leased 1,200 square feet from Victor Calderon at 1490A Boulevard of the Arts in Sarasota. Debbie Anglin, of Ian Black Real Estate, handled this transaction.

• Florida Preferred Homes Inc. signed a two-year lease on an office at Suite B in Lakeside Office Park, located at 3934 State Road 64 E., Bradenton, from Alan Stein. The lease price was for about $15.50 a square foot. Rico Boeras, of Preferred Commercial Inc., was the listing broker.

• Opus Corp. chose Michael Saunders & Co. as the exclusive broker for Laguna at Riviera Dunes, a condominium community overlooking the Manatee River and Rivera Dunes Yacht Basin, in Palmetto.

The community's five buildings consist of 210 residences, with five floor plans ranging in size from 1,800 square feet to 4,400 square feet. All residences have panoramic water views, private balconies and granite kitchen countertops. So far, the community is just under 50% sold. The units start in the mid $400,000.

• Savannah, Ga.-based PanaSteel has teamed with Sarasota's Murray Homes to bring cold-formed light gauge steel home construction to Bird Key in Sarasota.

Founded in 2003, PanaSteel develops and panelizes pre-engineered light-gauge steel-frame homes and is already becoming an industry leader with custom-built projects in south Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina and Florida.

Murray Homes is a development and construction company focused on building luxury waterfront estates and custom homes. Currently, the company is working on eight major waterfront estates in Sarasota located in Harbor Acres, Bird Key, Lido Key and Longboat Key and a commercial office development in downtown Sarasota.

The offspring of this relationship will be a two-story, 3,800-square-foot home at 411 Pheasant Way in Bird Key.

The advantages of pre-engineered steel homes, according to officials for Murray Homes, are primarily the speed of new construction, the strength of the material and the fact that steel is resistant to termites, mold and other issues related to wood.

• Harry Cardillo II's LB Properties West Inc. bought the former China Palace restaurant, at 5131 14th St. W., Bradenton, from Mei Chun Wong and Choon Lee for $800,000. LB Properties West mortgaged the property to the former owners for $500,000.

• Manatee County purchased a mobile home park at 6106 63rd St. E., Bradenton, from Curtis and Helen Johnson for $758,000.

• Courthouse Centre, a new 60,000-square-foot mixed-use project in downtown Sarasota, has an anchor tenant: Synovus Bank (United Bank) has signed a lease and will be the anchor commercial tenant in this new project to open shortly. The bank will occupy 9,400 square feet for its new downtown Sarasota headquarters, or about 15% of the space. The building will be signed and named "Synovus Bank Center" upon its planned mid-year opening. Courthouse Centre, located on the corner of Main Street, Washington Street and Ringling Boulevard, is planning a spring/summer 2005 opening. This real estate transaction was handled and the project was proposed by Diane Lawson, of Sarasota Commercial, and Stan Rutstein, of Wagner Realty. Synovus Bank was represented by Jay Heagerty, of Wagner Realty.

• The Founders Club has announced plans to build 13 maintenance-free golf cottages in its 700-acre enclave at 9000 Fruitville Road. Tom Brown and Jay Tallman are partners of U.S. Assets Group, which is developing The Founders Club with Fred Starling of The Starling Group. Robert Trent Jones Jr. has designed the private golf course.

The Founders Club is releasing the home sites for sale this month and has begun accepting reservations. "We will begin construction in July and expect to complete the cottages in about 14 months," Brown says. Prices begin at $1.6 million for the estate homes. The three- to five-bedroom homes will range from 3,200 square feet to 5,700 square feet with detached garages and private guest quarters.

• Barry Seidel, president of American Property Group of Sarasota Inc., and his wife, Leslye, purchased a half acre car lot, at 904 Tamiami Trail, Osprey, from CJB Property Development LLC for $475,000.

• The U.S. Tower Division of Taylor Woodrow plans to top out the eight-story luxury condominium Beleza on Venice Beach in mid-February. Frank Cirillo, project manager for Taylor Woodrow's U.S. Tower Division, said all 26 condominium residences at Beleza have been sold.

Beleza on Venice Beach will offer garage parking on the ground floor and a second floor community center with a fitness center and heated swimming pool. Three-bedroom luxury residences at Beleza average 2,400 square feet of living space. Beleza on Venice Beach is expected to open before the end of the year, Cirillo says.

• RJ's Coin Castle leased about 2,335-square-feet of space at 7922 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota, for a video gaming center from GFL Realty LLC. Barry Seidel, of American Property Group, represented landlord, and Michael Witt, of American Property Group, represented the tenant.

• United Investments LLP bought 1.61 acres at 7201, 7214 and 7224 22nd St. E., Sarasota, from DFM/Sarasota Properties LLC for $358,455. Carl Wise, of Preferred Commercial Inc., represented the seller, and Mike Edwards, of Edwards Commercial Realty Inc., represented the buyer.

• ValleyCrest Landscape Maintenance Inc. purchased lots 65 and 66 Paul Morris Drive in Morris Industrial Park in Englewood from Marshall Land Development f/k/a Morris & Marshall Inc. for $287,840. Christine Walter, of Richardson Kleiber Walter Walter Partnership handled the sales.

• Volt Telecom Group leased 900 square feet of office space at 240 Blue Juniper Blvd., Venice, in Interstate Commerce Center from Douglas and Diana Shaw. Christine Walter, of Richardson Kleiber Walter Walter Partnership handled the transaction.

• Audrey Greco d/b/a Nokomis Barber Shop leased 800 square feet of retail space at 627 Tamiami Trail, Nokomis, in the Park Isles Plaza from Park Isles Properties. Christine Walter, of Richardson Kleiber Walter Walter Partnership handled the transaction.

• Morgan Beaumont leased 10,125 square feet of office space at 6015 31st St. E., Bradenton, from The 6015 LLC. David Greenfield, of First Property Group, represented the landlord, and Marcia Cuttler, of American Property Group, represented the tenant.

• McKenzie Office Professionals LLC leased 2,000 square feet of office space at 3333 N. Washington Blvd., Sarasota, from Paramount-Cherry LLC. Marcia Cuttler, of American Property Group, represented the transaction.

• GATORTECH leased 1,375 square feet of office space at 6981 Curtiss Ave., Sarasota, from HADCO Properties. Marcia Cuttler, of American Property Group, represented the transaction.

• Saul Lapidus purchased a 2,719-square-foot commercial building at 923 S. Tamiami Trail, Nokomis, from Jeffrey Smith for $227,500. Barry Seidel, of American Property Group, handled the transaction.

• Steve Solomon Inc. purchased about 34 acres at 21st Street E., Bradenton from the Dan Blalock, trustee, for about $1.8 million. Bill Kleiber, of Richardson Kleiber Walter Kleiber Partnership, and Bill Blalock, of Wyman Green and Blalock Real Estate, handled the transaction.

• Sarasota Business Plaza LLLP purchased 28 acres at 6600 Fruitville Road from Paul and Carol Eskew. Ristorcelli & Associates, Joan Silvernail, Equity Exchange Services Inc., The G&R Townsend Partnership, Henry and Josephine Daniels and The Braly-Townsend Family Partner for $4 million. Bill Kleiber, of Richardson Kleiber Walter Kleiber Partnership, handled the transaction.

• Rinehart Homes has purchased the final 20 home sites in Secluded Oaks for the second and final phase of construction in the community, located between Bee Ridge Road and State Road 72, Sarasota. Homes will be priced from the $400,000 to more than $700,000.

• Ruden McClosky, a Florida law firm with 10 offices around the state and one office in Venezuela, has announced plans to relocate its offices from 1549 Ringling Blvd., Sarasota, to 1515 Ringling Blvd. The firm now occupies the seventh floor of downtown Sarasota's Northern Trust Building, providing the attorneys an additional 2,000 square feet of space. (Totaling more than 10,000 square feet.)

• Hyrdrogel Vision Corp. has leased 25,418 square feet of space at 7575 Commerce Court, Sarasota, from Commerce Court LLC. Michele Fuller and Jag Grewal, of Coldwell Banker Commercial, handled the transaction.

• Pacific Tomato Growers purchased an office building, at 950 7th Ave. W., Palmetto, from William and Ava Sellers for $350,000. The property is at the corner of the company's existing headquarters at 503 10th St. W., Palmetto.