St. Petersburg's Heritage Insurance buys Clearwater AmeriLife buildings

BUYER: Heritage Insurance Holdings LLC (principal: Bruce Lucas), St. Petersburg
SELLER: 2600 & 2650 McCormick Drive
PROPERTY: 2600 and 2650 McCormick Drive, Clearwater
PRICE: $9.2 million
PREVIOUS PRICE: $18.1 million, June 2006
LAW FIRM ON DEED: First American Title Insurance Co., Washington, D.C.

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: St. Petersburg-based property and casualty insurer Heritage Insurance purchased the two AmeriLife buildings in Clearwater for $9.2 million.

The price equated to $62 per square foot. That figure is lower than the two-year average price per square foot for office space ($115) in the Tampa Bay area, according to the CoStar Group.

One AmeriLife Place features 75,300 square feet of space while Two AmeriLife Place contains 72,991 square feet. Both of the three-story, brick-and-glass buildings were originally named Prestige Place and constructed in 1987 and 1989, respectively. They were renovated in 1997, according to the CoStar Group.

Miami-based America's Capital Partners purchased the properties back in mid-2006 for $18.1 million, just prior to the real estate market collapse. The two buildings were foreclosed upon in February 2010 and their ownership passed to an affiliate of CW Capital Asset Management.
Heritage Insurance declined to comment on the purchase.