Real Estate Briefs

Real Estate Briefs

SARASOTA/MANATEE

Realtor, RBS Cos. buy Silkwood property

BUYER: Silkwood Court LLC (Elite Program Services Inc. and RBS Cos. Inc.), Sarasota

SELLER: TOMCOL LLC

PROPERTY: 8902 Silkwood Court, Sarasota

PRICE: $4.05 million

PREVIOUS PRICE: $2.5 million, January 2005

TITLE FIRM ON DEED: Desjarlais Title Co., Sarasota

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: Sarasota-based Elite Program Services Inc. and Brighton, Mich.-based developer RBS Cos. Inc. acquired the 18-unit, nine-building complex of rental units on Silkewood Court. Realtor Warren Hickernell, owner of Elite Premier Services, says the new owners are cleaning up the property and considering a condo conversion.

"It's set up perfectly," Hickernell says. "It is located on a private dead-end street. It was in really good condition; we're just doing a few cosmetic repairs and repainting it both inside and out. We're putting in some new landscaping. It is just a great location."

Hickernell expects the 1,350-square-foot, two-bedroom, two-bath units to list for $329,900.

The development is being renamed Silkwood Enclave.

The buyers mortgaged the property to Liberty Savings Bank for $3 million.

Tibbetts, partner

buy office on Orange

BUYER: 330 S. Orange LLC (principals: Douglas Tibbetts and Gary Sligar), Sarasota

SELLER: 1844 Management Corp.

PROPERTY: 330 S. Orange Ave., Sarasota

PRICE: $1.58 million

PREVIOUS PRICE: $350,000, September 1994

LAW FIRM ON DEED: Saba & King LLP, Sarasota

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: Douglas Tibbetts, Sarasota, and Gary Sligar, Boca Grande, purchased a 4,000-square-foot office building on Orange Avenue in downtown Sarasota.

Tibbetts plans to relocate his companies, Paradise Properties LLC and Paradise Hotels LLC, from 1630 Ringling Blvd., which he sold earlier this year.

"I'm going to do a small renovation on the [newly purchased] building, primarily on the exterior to make it look new and fresh," he says.

Tibbetts and Sligar were part of the group that developed the five-story office/retail Ringling Square and refurbished the 13,275-square-foot retail building Hillview Square. In addition, Tibbetts is the managing partner in the development of the 95-unit Indigo Hotel on U.S. 41.

Tibbetts and Sligar mortgaged the property to The Bank of Commerce for $1.4 million.

Reliance Partners, others

plan Mendoza development

BUYER: Reliance Mendoza LLC, Sarasota

SELLER: Diocese of Venice

PROPERTY: 5000 E. 37th St., Ellenton

PRICE: $10.7 million

PREVIOUS PRICE: $1.3 million, December 2002

LAW FIRM ON DEED: Goldstein Buckley Cechman Rice & Purtz PA, Fort Myers

BUYER: Reliance Mendoza LLC, Sarasota

SELLER: Water Grove LLP, Howard Sadwin and Grady Hartzo

PROPERTY: Near Mendoza, Erie Road and Moccasin Wallow, Ellenton

PRICE: $2.8 million

PREVIOUS PRICE: $1.25 million

LAW FIRM ON DEED: Dunlap & Moran

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: Ken Dardis of Reliance Realty Partners, ResortQuest's Larry Starr and Robert Morey of Fairway Development Group Inc. purchased 148 acres of former agricultural land on Mendoza Road.

"We're going to go into Manatee County shortly with a site plan for a variety of residential products," Dardis says.

The owners are considering townhomes, rental apartments, condominiums or some other type of cluster housing.

"We having been looking around at land for a couple months," Dardis says. "This was the only true infill piece I saw, and with all the other development out there I thought it was just perfect with its proximity to I-75 and the Prime Outlets. Benderson [Development Co. Inc.] is developing another commercial center nearby so it's proving a very good strategic location not only for residential but for commercial."

The owners plan to include both affordable and workforce priced housing to meet the county's fast-track requirements. Dardis says the biggest attraction of the fast-track process is the certainty it gives the development.

Dardis' Reliance is a partner in the development of the Tidemark Lodge and Marina development on Holmes Beach.

Reliance owns a million-and-a-half square feet of existing or approved commercial development in Connecticut and New York.

The new owners mortgaged both parcels to AmSouth Bank for $9.1 million.

UPGRADES TO THE PALMS

NEARLY COMPLETE

Construction is nearing completion on the upgrades to The Palms, a 248-unit condominium conversion on Tuttle Avenue, north of Fruitville Road. The community offers affordable luxury with units from $145,990 to $235,000. About 70% of the 248 residences are sold.

The Miami-based developers are Raul Benitez, Henry Rodstein and Bernie Meyer. Benitez, a mortgage banker and owner of Equity Financial, has financed and converted more than 7,500 condominiums in the past few years. Rodstein, a developer and commercial mortgage broker, has closed more than a billion dollars in deals over the past 10 years. Meyer is senior vice president of Associa, the largest condominium management company in the United States.

Etc...

• The Sarasota Film Society announced the construction schedule for its second location, The Lakewood Ranch Cinemas, at Main Street at Lakewood Ranch. The construction effort is being led by MAPP Construction LLC, a southeast region commercial general contractor. The theater has an anticipated completion date of July.

• Sarasota-based Grand Isle Villas' EGI Ltd. has opened sales of a number of units in the Grand Isle Villas, a new seaside development in Great Exuma, Bahamas. Grand Isle is designed as 72 ocean and golf course villas within the 500-acre Emerald Bay Resort and adjacent to the Four Seasons Hotel and Spa. Construction on the development is nearly complete.

The one-bedroom, one-bath luxury flat, more than 1,000 square-feet, is being listed for $735, 000. The two-bedroom, 2.5-bath villas, 2,285 square feet, start at $1.2 million. Three-bedroom villas offer 2,833 square-feet of living space starting at $1.25 million. Penthouses begin at $2.5 million.

TAMPA

Tarpon Springs One acquires

land for marina, residential

BUYER: Tarpon Springs One LLC (principal: Thomas Scannell III), Boynton Beach

SELLER: Eleanore Nissley

PROPERTY: Anclote Road, Tarpon Springs

PRICE: $4 million

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: Tarpon Springs One LLC purchased about 18 acres on Anclote Road near the Anclote River. Michael Nissley, a vice president with Grubb & Ellis Co. and part of the family that sold the property, says the new ownership is expected to develop a marina along with a residential project.

"Plans are still being developed right now," Nissley says. "We're not sure exactly what type of residential would go there but it will likely be townhomes. I think the proximity to the Anclote River and other marinas was the key."

The buyers mortgaged the property to Farm Credit of South Florida ACA for $5 million.

Clearwater resident

buys Southron Apartments

BUYER: Southron Apartments LLC (principal: Roseanne Chiramonte), Clearwater

SELLER: Gregory Choney

PROPERTY: 1875 Sunset Point Road, Clearwater

PRICE: $5.8 million

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: Roseanne Chiramonte acquired the 96-unit Southron Apartments in Clearwater. Chiramonte and her son plan to renovate the apartment complex and manage it.

"It still needs some work, both interior and exterior," Chiramonte says. "We haven't been able to do much yet, but as the units become available, we will get in there and renovate them."

Company purchases

Bayside at Palma Ceia

BUYER: Bay Hyde Parc LLC (principal: Julio Perez), Miami

SELLER: Palma Ceia Grande LLC

PROPERTY: 2421 Teresa Circle, Tampa

PRICE: $12 million

LAW FIRM ON DEED: Parlade & Figueras, Miami

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: Bay Hyde Parc LLC purchased the Bayside at Palma Ceia apartment complex, which was formerly known as the Village of Palma Ceia. Attempts to contact company officials or Julio Perez were unsuccessful.

The new owner mortgaged the property back to the former owner for $3.2 million.

Etc...

• Denholtz Associates, a Rahway, N.J.-based real estate development company, and Rothschild Realty acquired 4.55 acres of vacant land at 4201 Eisenhower Blvd., Tampa. Denholtz plans to construct a 105,000-square-foot, Class A office building to be named Independence Center II, and a two-level, above-grade parking deck on the site. The proposed building will consist of four floors, 26,000 square feet each. Building features will include a food and beverage kiosk, card access and five parking spaces for every 1,000 square feet of rental space.

LEE/COLLIER

Two land developers buy 40 acres on Pine Island

BUYER: Somerset Properties Group LLC (principals: Charles Felix and John Hoekstra), Naples

SELLER: Daniel Kelly, Brian and Maureen Haag, trustees, Stephen Haywood, Talan Corp. and Suzanne and Matthew Scribner

PROPERTY: 2600 N.E. Pine Island Road, Cape Coral

PRICE: $10 million

LAW FIRM ON DEED: Paradise Title Services Inc., Cape Coral

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: Charles Felix and John Hoekstra acquired 39.3 acres of vacant land to add to the small parcel at 2570 Pine Island Road they purchased months earlier. Now that they have 40 acres, the new owners are drawing up plans for the site.

"The entire Pine Island corridor has been designated as a commercial corridor so we are really looking to do something in line with the commercial attractiveness of the property," Felix says. "We could do something multifamily, commercial in the front with multifamily in the back or there is even a possibility we could build an office park."

Any future use of the land hinges on the success of a rezone application. The new owners might ask Cape Coral to annex the property, Felix says, adding, "The city-county line is very close to the property. It might offer us a few advantages."

Felix and his partner are land developers and entrepreneurs that take property through the governmental approval process and do some infrastructure work, but they leave vertical construction to others.

The two owners mortgaged the site to Orion Bank for $6.76 million.

Mobile home park sold,

improvements planned

BUYER: Neapolitan Cove LLC (principals: Jim and David Stevens), Naples

SELLER: Mary Kirk Lucas Biehl and Charles Jackson, trustees

PROPERTY: 139 Enchanting Blvd., Naples

PRICE: $3.1 million

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: Jim Stevens and his son David Stevens purchased the 60-site Enchanting Acres RV Park in Naples. The two plan to refurbish the site and continue to run it as an RV park.

"It will be set up for everything from RVs to mobile homes and fifth wheels," Jim Stevens says. "It was just really run down. We're going to put in new electric pads, roads and a new clubhouse and swimming pool. I think the big attraction is it's right in the middle of Naples, and the rest of the RV parks have either been sold or gone bad."

The Stevens also plan to build a wall to buffer noise from U.S. 41.

Jim Stevens previously developed the Pelican Lake RV Resort, which was condominiumized and sold in 2001.

The new owners mortgaged the RV park to Orion Bank for $2.79 million.

Two Steves buy

Sanibel marina

BUYER: Steeve Squared LLC (principals: Steven Knight and Stephen Page), Fort Myers

SELLER: Marina Acquisitions LLC

PROPERTY: 15051 Punta Rassa Road, Fort Myers

PRICE: $35 million

PREVIOUS PRICE: $6.25 million, June 2004

LAW FIRM ON DEED: James Larry Nichols PA, Fort Myers

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: The investment group of Steeve Squared LLC purchased the 20-pier Sanibel Harbour Marina. Aside from the water amenities, the purchase included a 40,000-square-foot commercial building.

The purchasers, who could not be reached for comment, mortgaged the property to the former owner for $34.3 million.