Tampa Girl Scouts group buys half Eisenhower building

BUYER: Girl Scouts of West Central Florida Inc., Tampa

SELLER: Spencer Farms Inc.

PROPERTY: 4610 Eisenhower, Tampa

PRICE: $2.15 million

PREVIOUS PRICE: $1.42 million, June

LAW FIRM ON DEED: Law firm of Trenam Kemker, Tampa

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: The Girl Scouts of West Central Florida purchased half of an Eisenhower Business Park building for $2.15 million.

The price equated to $90 per square foot.

The two-story, 24,000-square-foot office condominium was built in 2008.

Michael Sapp, the local Girl Scouts group's chief financial officer, says the new building is only slightly larger than its existing Westshore facility.

“This really comes down to configuration,” Sapp says. “Our [Tampa Service Center] was originally designed in the '80s as a medical arts office building. There is definitely a lot of square footage eaten up as non-useable space. If we were a straight administrative office user this would be a perfect building, but we need a lot of open space for our volunteers.”

The new owner plans to put administrative offices on the second floor and develop the shell lower level for volunteer operation-related uses. The first level already has completed bathrooms, and most of the improvements are expected to focus on adding walls.

Mercedes Angell and Jeffrey Lanning of Cushman & Wakefield of Florida Inc. represented the seller and Carol Warren of Colliers International represented the buyer.

“It was purchased for well below replacement cost,” Angell says.

The Girl Scouts of West Central Florida, which covers Citrus, Hernando, Hillsborough, Marion, Pasco, Pinellas, Polk and Sumter counties, plans to market its current facility at 5002 W. Lemon St., Tampa for sale.