Iconic building sold for $8.72 million

TAMPA — An iconic office building on Tampa’s Kennedy Boulevard has sold.

The Venture Center, a three-story office building with a huge mural reading "Suncoast Smiles on Kennedy" on its west side, sold for $8.725 million to Tampa-based commercial real estate firm Ciminelli Real Estate Services.

The 46,077-square-foot building is located in the Westshore Business District, about five miles west of downtown and about a mile east of Westshore Boulevard.

Safety Harbor-based Paradise Ventures previously owned the property.

“Paradise Ventures did a great job transforming The Venture Center’s image, focused on creating an iconic Westshore identity to better match its fantastic location, which attracted interest from investors nationwide,” Ari Ravi, a vice president with CBRE, says in a  release announcing the sale.

Ciminelli plans to take up space in the building and to take over the lease-up of vacant space, according to the release.