Fort Myers office building sells to Sarasota investor for $10.25 million

A nearly 55,000-square-foot office building in Fort Myers has sold to a Sarasota attorney.

Evan N. Berlin and his revocable trust paid $10.25 million for the Valley National Bank Plaza at 5220 Summerlin Commons Blvd. Berlin intends to completely renovate the property, though the exact plans aren’t yet in place.

Berlin is a founding partner at Berlin Patten Ebling in Sarasota and a major real estate investor in the area. Earlier this year, two LLCs with ties to the firm paid $9.4 million for the Six Mile Corporate Park in Fort Myers.

Valley National Bank Plaza is currently 73% leased. Tenants include the bank and Cushman Wakefield Commercial Property Southwest Florida, which will handle the leasing for the property.

“With interest rates rising, the returns advertised on properties with a strong in-place cash flow are not as appealing as they once were,” says Nick DeVito, partner at Ian Black Real Estate, which represented Berlin. “Buyers are finding more value in a property that has some vacancy and needs work to attract strong tenants, which this property offers.”

The five-story Class A office building is about five minutes from downtown Fort Myers.