Historic Venice apartment buildings sell for $4 million

Three Venice apartment buildings built in 1925 have sold to a private investor for $4.07 million.

The apartments at 504, 508 and 512 Armada Road S. are part of the Armada Road Multi-Family District, which, according to a 1989 National Register of Historic Places application to the U.S. Department of Interior, “is a series of two-story Mediterranean Revival style apartment blocks.”

The application, submitted by Florida’s Division of Historic Preservation, says that the seven structures in the district were completed between 1925 and 1927 by Tampa builder, M. G. Worrell who worked for the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers. The homes are on the 400 and 500 blocks of Armada Avenue.

According to the application, city planner John Nolen’s plan for Venice, which was owned by the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers at the time, called for building more apartments in the city as way to have enough housing for all income ranges.

“The Armada Road Multi-Family District of Venice represents that portion of the 1925 Nolen Plan calling for the provision of multifamily, modest income housing,” the application says. “The character and design of the district are significant elements of the framework of development in Venice.”

The district made the list in 1989.

As for the recent sales, the commercial real estate firm Marcus & Millichap says the both the buyer and seller were private investors. The firm, which brokered and announced the deal, did not name them.

But according to Sarasota County property records, the buildings were owned by Tracy de Chevron-Villette, who paid $630,000 in 2012. Records have not been updated to reflect who the buyer is.

Marcus & Millichap, in its announcement, says the new owner “saw the opportunity to further expand their local portfolio, while recognizing that their strategic business plan had the potential to provide a unique and historic living option to renters in the area through operational and physical improvements.”

What those improvements are was not disclosed.