Tamiami museum owner buys Southland Inn, more

BUYER: Whimsical Arts LLC (principal: Marietta Lee), Sarasota

SELLER: M&R Enterprises of Sarasota Inc.

PROPERTY: 2229 N. Tamiami Trail and 1148 23rd St., Sarasota

PRICE: $950,000

PREVIOUS PRICE: $600,000, November 1996 and $135,000, December 1996

LAW FIRM ON DEED: Fergeson Skipper Shaw Keyser Baron & Tirabassi PA, Sarasota

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: Tamiami Trail real estate owner Marietta Lee of Sarasota has expanded her holdings to include the Southland Inn. Lee purchased the 29-unit Southland Inn and a neighboring six-unit building on 23rd Street for $950,000.

The purchase covered a total of 1.07 acres.

The property is directly north of Lee's 5,390-square-foot Marietta Museum of Art & Whimsy, which she installed in the former Kancha Buddhist Center after purchasing it for $1.55 million in July of 2008. The former Connecticut resident also owns a 0.68-acre parcel on North Tamiami Trail next to Whitaker Bayou, which she acquired in mid-2009 for $1.5 million.

The Business Review was unable to contact Lee for comment prior to deadline.