Sarasota investors buy Harbor Apartments

BUYER VIA MORTGAGE ASSIGNMENT: TCTL Properties LLC (principals: Thomas and Tommie Santilli), Sarasota

SELLER: Sabal Palm Bank

PROPERTY: 301 Seventh St. W., Bradenton

PRICE: (estimated) $1.2 million to $1.5 million

PREVIOUS PRICE: $4.29 million, January 2006

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: Sarasota investors Tom Santilli and his wife, Tommie Santilli, purchased the assignment of foreclosure sale for the rundown Harbor Apartments for a reported $1.2 million to $1.5 million.

Sabal Palm Bank had purchased the 24-unit property at a foreclosure auction but in turn sold the assignment to the foreclosure to the Santillis within the 10-day redemption period.

In 2006, Sarasota developer Enterprise Associates of Sarasota purchased the 2.6-acre site with plans to demolish the apartments to develop a high-rise condominium with a grocery store and office space. Faced with a recession and the death of its owner, Sam Hamad, the Metro Marquee proposal was never developed.

“Over the long term, we plan to develop it,” says Tom Santilli. “We want to develop something larger there. In the short term we are planning to rehab them with the hope of having it carry itself until times are better. Ninth-five percent of the people that saw it would have just turned around and run. We saw the character and the location.”

Santilli says the couple has done several rehabs of historic or dilapidated properties in Gainesville. He has budgeted $300,000 for the renovation.