Boca Raton investors pay $6.75 million for Pinellas portfolio

A Boca Raton real estate investment firm has bought a nearly 45,000-square-foot industrial portfolio in Pinellas County.

Basis Industrial bought Clearwater 44 at 14605 49th St. N. for $6.75 million through its Origin Fund, the firm's first private equity real estate fund. The all-cash deal closed Dec. 22. Its previous owner, the Hersh Equity Group, paid $3.75 million for the portfolio in 2021.

(Google maps, listings and Basis say the property is in Clearwater, but county property records say it is in Largo.)

The 44,562-square-foot infill, shallow bay industrial portfolio is made up of two warehouses and is fully occupied, according to a statement from Basis. Its tenant roster includes Blue Works, Glass-Scan Technologies, Bayview Motorsports, Kingdom Precision LLC and Interprint Web Printing.

According to Basis, Clearwater 44 has seen $350,000 in upgrades in the past 2½ years. Among the work was new roofs in 2023, HVAC replacements and lighting upgrades. Basis says in the statement that it’s planning its own renovation including new signage, security cameras, roof maintenance and improvements to the exterior and interior. It did not disclose how much it intends to spend on the improvements.

Basis has $5 billion in total investment capitalization and owns, manages or has developed 15 million square feet of real estate, according to its website. Among that is 3 million square feet of self-storage space.

With the purchase, Basis owns 350,000 square feet of industrial space in the Tampa market. It bought a local portfolio in April, paying $33 million for four properties, including Brandywine Business Center at 3801 Corporex Park Drive; Corporex Plaza at 3902 Corporex Park Drive; and Presidents Plaza Business Center at 4801 George Road.

Anthony Scavo, Basis’ president and COO, says in the statement that the company is looking to buy more properties in the Tampa area and sees it as “one of the best performing markets in the U.S. with strong current income and potential for substantial value creation from continued rent appreciation.”