Hoffmann spends $9 million for Naples offices

A Chicago-based real estate investment firm that has been among the most active in Southwest Florida in recent years has added to its portfolio in Naples with an $8.9 million acquisition.

Hoffmann Commercial Real Estate’s purchase of the roughly 9,000-square-foot office building at 500 Fifth Ave. South last month marks the latest in a string of deals for the company.

The two-story building, which Hoffmann bought from Stephen Farrington, is occupied by real estate brokerage Premier Sotheby’s International Realty, Vantage Private Wealth, Loden Wealth Management, Mac Trust and South Fifth Group, among others.

The deal brings the number of properties Hoffmann entities have purchased in Naples since 2015 to roughly 30. Commercial real estate brokerage Investment Properties Corp. Principal David J. Stevens negotiated the transaction.

“It’s a great asset with great tenants in place, and it fits into our original strategy,” says Greg Hoffmann, the company’s CEO. “We’re big believers in Southwest Florida and its long-term viability. The area has been a great escape for a lot of people during the pandemic, and when this came available we jumped on it.”

Hoffmann and Farrington have done business before. The Hoffmanns acquired a building at 271 Broad Ave. from Farrington in 2017, records show.

Hoffmann entities also control the Four Corners Building, Pettit Square, the 5th Avenue Collection and other properties in downtown Naples. The Hoffmann family also owns the Hertz Arena and its home hockey team, the Florida Everblades, in Estero.

“We consider these to be generational assets,” Hoffmann says. “As long as the sun is shining and there’s water in the Gulf of Mexico, we think people will continue coming to Florida and, more specifically, to special places like Naples.”