Youssef investors buy Westshore's Transworld building for $3.05 million

BUYER: Issytimmy5 LLC (principals: Yvonne and Tamer Youssef), Tampa
SELLER: Transworld Diversified Services Inc.
PROPERTY: 4115 W. Spruce St., Tampa
PRICE: $3.05 million
PREVIOUS PRICE: $850,000, March 1998
LAW FIRM ON DEED: Gardner Brewer Martinez Monfort PA, Tampa

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: Real estate investor Tamer Youssef and his wife, Yvonne Youssef, chief financial officer of River Crossing Labs, purchased the 31,310-square-foot Transworld Building for $3.05 million.

The price equated to $97 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.

The 38-year-old former IRS office building was purchased, gutted and renovated in 1998 and 1999 to serve as the headquarters of staffing services company Transworld Diversified Services. The two-story building features private offices and conference rooms. Located at the northeast corner of Spruce Street and Lois Avenue, the 1.64-acre property also features zoning that allows for the future development of up to 250,000 square feet of office space.

“First and foremost we were attracted to the location and the size of the building,” Tamer Youssef says. “Hopefully our business [River Crossing Labs] will eventually go in there. We are going to be repainting the building, trimming the trees and redoing the landscaping.”

In the near term, Transworld Diversified Services plans to lease space in the building. The Westshore building is located near the new PwC offices in MetWest International and of the 300-unit luxury apartment project Modera Westshore under development.

Purchase entity Issytimmy5 LLC mortgaged the property to The Bank of Tampa for $2.8 million.