Downtowner Car Wash owners buy The Towers office building

BUYER: 1003 Del Prado Enterprises LLC (principals: Jay and Michelle Montpetit), Bayport, Minn.
SELLER: Fifth Third Bank
PROPERTY: 1003 Del Prado Blvd. S., Cape Coral
PRICE: $1.05 million
PREVIOUS PRICE: $1.28 million, May 2002
LAW FIRM ON DEED: Zimmerman Kiser Sutcliffe PA, Orlando

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: Jay and Michelle Montpetit, Cape Coral residents and owners of the Downtowner Car Wash, purchased the 17,061-square-foot The Towers office building for $1.05 million.

The price equated to $62 per square foot. That figure is less than the two-year average price per square foot for office space ($120) in Southwest Florida, according to the CoStar Group.

The three-story office building is adjacent to the Downtowner Car Wash South East. It was 30 to 40% occupied at the time of the sale, according to Jay Montpetit.

“We thought it was a good investment; it has a lot of potential,” Montpetit says. “It hadn't had some TLC in awhile. The first thing we'll be doing is spending a sizable amount of money to make that building stand tall.”

The new owners plan to clean and paint the building, add new signage, repair the parking lot and improve the landscaping.

Along with the improvements, the Montpetits plans to aggressively market it, especially to medical office users and attorneys, as The Towers Professional Building. In addition, Montpetit says, the change from bank to private ownership has already generated new interest from potential tenants.

The couple operates three Downtowner Car Wash locations: downtown St. Paul, Minn.; Cape Coral and Pine Island.

The purchase entity, 1003 Del Prado Enterprises LLC, mortgaged the property to Anchor Bank NA for $735,000.