Sarasota entrepreneur buys Century building

BUYER: Biter Idea Vault LLC (Jesse M. Biter Revocable Trust), Sarasota

SELLER: Century Bank FSB

PROPERTY: 1680, 1700 and 1711 Fruitville Road, Sarasota

PRICE: $2.8 million

PREVIOUS PRICE: $2.55 million and $150,000, August 1993 and $172,000, October 1995

FILING FIRM ON DEED: Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., Dallas

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: Sarasota businessman Jesse Biter purchased the 41,617-square-foot former Century Bank building on Fruitville Road for $2.8 million.

The price equated to $67 per square foot.

Biter says he is still evaluating his options for the building and is in discussions with Sarasota-based Hoyt Architects on potential building improvements. An attorney continues to lease space on the first floor of the four-story building, but the remainder of the building is vacant.

“I was looking for a building downtown for a project I'm working on,” Biter says. “I wasn't in a hurry, so I didn't mind working with the FDIC to get it.”

Steve Horn and Ian Black of Ian Black Real Estate represented the buyer and Tom Karpenske of CB Richard Ellis represented the seller.

“Jesse has an extreme amount of confidence in the market,” Horn says. “He saw the opportunity to put his stamp on a building in downtown Sarasota and took it.”

Biter is best known locally as the founder of the multimillion-dollar auto sales software firm HomeNet Automotive, which he sold to AutoTrader.com last year.