Insurance executive buys downtown Bradenton property

The chair and CEO of Sunz Insurance has bought 2 acres in Bradenton, increasing his holdings in the city’s downtown.

Steve Herrig, who founded Sarasota-based Progressive Employee Services before taking the helm at Bradenton-based Sunz, paid $2.35 million for the property which is made up of three parcels: 1301 Eighth Ave. W., 817 Tamami Trail and 826 13th St. W.

Jag Grewal, a partner at Ian Black Real Estate, which represented Herrig, says there are no immediate plans for the property though zoning allows for mixed-use, office, retail or multifamily housing.

The property is just the latest holding for Herrig, who owns several other properties downtown, including the 60,000-square-foot Sunz Insurance building at 1301 Sixth Ave. W.

The others include vacant lots at 816 12th Ave. W., 720 14th St. and 828 12th St. and the the 55,000-square-foot former Bank of America building at 1201 Sixth Ave. W.

He bought the former bank building in 2020 for $3.75 million and then made improvements before signing Connect Bradenton, a coworking space.

Grewal, who has worked with Herrig and Sunz for more than 13 years, says downtown Bradenton is “seeing incredible growth, and this land provides a strong investment opportunity” for Herrig.  

“Given that he also owns the adjacent block, it seemed like a natural extension of his existing commercial real estate portfolio.”