Commercial Real Estate

Sarasota's Main Plaza deal dies
Montreal-based Rosdev Real Estate Group and Tampa developer Gregory Hughes have let go of a deal to acquire Sarasota's Main Plaza/Hollywood 20 downtown, a blow to redevelopment efforts at the aging retail, office and entertainment complex.

Sal Fratino, a Rosdev executive vice president and the company's CFO, says the property is no longer under a contract of sale.

“We envisaged a redevelopment of the property based on securing new leases and renewal of others,” Fratino wrote in an email. “While progress was made, we unfortunately ran out of time to achieve our initial expectations and decided not to proceed further. It is a great property, well located with a lot of potential — especially in view of the very positive market dynamics of downtown Sarasota.”

That means owner Paragon Realty Group LLC and brokerage firm Cushman & Wakefield will likely bring the 1991 Main St. complex — being offered for sale for roughly $20 million — back to the market.

Hughes, who formed Main Street Sarasota Ventures I and II LLC in June with Fratino, according to state records, could not be reached for comment.

Rosdev, founded in 1960, owns hotels, office and industrial buildings, retail space and assisted-living facilities and nursing homes, according to its website. Its retail holdings total 1 million square feet in Canada, New Jersey and Nebraska.

Hughes is former president and CEO of Chesapeake Atlantic Holdings Inc., which owned the Gold Bank Plaza and other Tampa buildings before losing them to foreclosure in the early 2000s.

Connecticut-based Paragon bought Main Plaza in 2005 for $40 million.

Deloitte shifting Tampa offices
Giant accounting firm Deloitte is planning to move its Tampa offices early next year to the Tampa City Center's 36th floor, taking over space that brokerage Cushman & Wakefield moved from last month.

In moving from floors 12 and 14 in the 19-story Fifth Third Center, at 201 E. Kennedy Ave., Deloitte will consolidate from 26,462 square feet to 16,576 square feet.

“They were looking to align their corporate image with that of their office space,” says Brent Miller, the JLL senior vice president who represented Deloitte. “They wanted to be in a trophy asset and on a top floor, and that's tough to find in the Tampa market nowadays.”