Diamond Vault owners buy West Marine building

BUYER: 3979 LLC (principal: Larue Chokr), Bradenton

SELLER: George C. Perreault Lt 6 LLC

PROPERTY: 3979 S. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota

PRICE: $1 million

PREVIOUS PRICE: $1.1 million, September 1998

LAW AND TITLE FIRM ON DEED: Riddell Law Group and RiddellTitle & Escrow LLC, Sarasota

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: Ali and LaRue Chokr purchased the 6,400-square-foot former West Marine building for $1 million.

The price equated to $156 per square foot.

The Chokr family, which operates the Diamond Vault, bought the building, south of Bee Ridge Road, to serve as the home for the jewelry and gem business. The Diamond Vault currently operates from a leased space at 4910 S. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota.

Jag Grewal and Michele Fuller of Ian Black Real Estate handled the transaction.

“West Marine was in there for the past 10 to 12 years and before then it used to be a guitar store,” Grewal says. “They're going to overhaul it. It's a concrete block building so structurally it's strong. All they will be doing is the exterior work.”

Grewal says the sale was market driven and did not involve any financial distress.