Dilweg Sarasota deal may spur others

The North Carolina firm that acquired the 13-story Sarasota City Center for the highest price spent for a downtown Sarasota office building in the past decade may be seeking other Gulf Coast deals, company officials say.

Drew Cunningham, a partner and the COO of the Dilweg Cos., says the firm identified Sarasota as a prime locale for purchasing assets for more than a year prior to making its $36.5 million offer on the 245,293-square-foot downtown Sarasota building.

Dilweg, founded in Durham, N.C. in 1999, also acquired the 23-story First Citizens Bank Plaza in Charlotte, N.C. Combined, the two properties sold for $115.5 million.

“We're very excited to be in Sarasota,” says Zach Ashton, Dilweg's managing director of acquisitions. “And there could be more to come in the Tampa metro area, as well.”

Dilweg's Sarasota purchase also sets a recent record for office sales in the city. The next-largest purchase took place in March 2006, when Michigan-based Triton Cos. bought the then-M&I Bank Building and a one-acre parcel for $35 million.

That 11-story building, today known as the BMO Harris Bank building, sold in July 2016 for $23 million, records show.

In all, Dilweg has purchased more than $1.1 billion worth of commercial real estate since its inception. The firm currently owns 28 office, retail and industrial assets in six Southern states, according to its website.