983-square-foot Captiva building sold for $1.5 million

Naples, Fort Myers and Charlotte

Continental Properties, a Wisconsin multifamily developer and owner, has bought The Centro in Fort Myers. Lee County records show it paid $56.76 million. The 264-unit apartment complex sits on 14.15 acres at 16909 Vintage Commerce Blvd. just off of Alico Road and Interstate 75. It offers studio, one-, two-, and three-bedroom units with monthly rents starting at $1,735 for a 572-square-foot studio and topping out at $2,920 for a 1,391-square-foot three bedroom. The community was built by Geis Development out of Ohio and opened in 2023. Geis paid $4.54 million for the then-vacant land in 2021. Continental, which also develops hospitality and retail properties, was founded in 1979. It has developed more than 133 apartment complexes and currently owns 19 properties in Florida. Of those,12 are along the Gulf Coast between Pasco and Lee counties. 

A 983-square-foot commercial property on Captiva has sold for $1.56 million. The building is at 11526 Andy Rosse Lane off of Captiva Drive between the Gulf of Mexico and Pine Island Sound. It is currently occupied by American Realty of Captiva, according to online records. The buyer was EMK Properties, an LLC that, according to the Florida’s Division of Corporations database, is located in Oakwood, Ohio, a suburb of Dayton. The previous owner was a Virginia family trust which bought it in 1998 for $369,000. Justin Thibaut, CEO of LSI Cos. which represented the seller and announced the sale, says the new owners haven’t shared plans for the property “but the deal shows renewed investment interest in the island and, based on existing and re-opening attractions in the vicinity, I believe there will be quite a bit more activity soon for Captiva post-hurricane.” Chief among the happenings on the island is the redevelopment of the South Seas resort. The owners of the property are amid public hearings this month as residents challenge plans for the 330-acre property that sold in 2021 for $50.38 million. Thibaut and Laura Cari worked on the deal for LSI. Jeff Burns and Tiffany Burns of Premier Sotheby’s International Realty represented the buyer. 

Tampa, St. Petersburg, Pasco and Polk

Clearwater property owners will get a bigger discount on their flood insurance starting this year. The discount is the result of the Federal Emergency Management Agency upgrading the city’s Community Rating System classification for its National Flood Insurance Program. Clearwater moved from a Class 6 to a Class 5, meaning property owners now will get a 25% discount on NFIP policies. (Class 6 qualifies for a 20% discount.) CRS, as the Community Rating System is known, assigns points to localities and qualifies certain communities’ residents for discounts that can cut insurance premiums by hundreds of dollars each year. The new discount kicks in Oct. 1. The city is using the increased discount to urge property owners to buy flood insurance, even when not required, In 2024, the city says in an email to residents, “our community suffered greatly in the wake of hurricanes Helene and Milton, and having flood insurance coverage may bring you peace of mind as we enter into another hurricane season.” The day after Hurricane Milton, which closely followed Hurricane Helene, one could see how impactful flooding was on Clearwater Beach where debris, from mattresses and dressers to household appliances and garbage, was scattered along curbs.

Image via Hilton.com

The owners of a Pasco County Hilton Garden Inn have secured a $14 million mortgage. The proceeds of the loan are going toward refinancing existing debt on the Lutz property. Sarasota-based Largo Capital arranged for, and announced, the five-year fixed rate loan, which is amortized over 25 years. County records show the lender was Axxom Bank. Largo did not give an address for the hotel, but according to Hilton’s website there is only one Garden Inn property in Lutz and that’s at 2155 Northpointe Parkway. (Property and mortgage records also connect the property with the $14 million mortgage.) The 110-room hotel is owned by a Westville, New Jersey LLC with an address that matches that of the Pinnacle Hospitality Group on Dun & Bradstreet’s website. Pinnacle, county records show, paid $16.2 million for the property in 2018.

WestShore Plaza, the 50-year-old Tampa mall and once one of the city’s premier shopping destinations, has been listed for sale. CBRE announced last week that it was listing the shopping center which it is calling Westshore 54. The firm did not disclose a sale price. The shopping center, already slated for a major redevelopment, sits on 53.3 acres on Westshore and Kennedy boulevards about mile from International Plaza and two miles from Tampa International Airport. Washington Prime Group, the mall’s current owner, won approval last year for mixed-use development on the property that will include retail, restaurants, offices, medical offices, a hotel and 1,700 multifamily units, as well as a Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority transfer station. According to a statement from CBRE, the property has more than 8.1 million square feet of entitlements and the center “offers a clear, immediate path to vertical development.” The 1.09 million-square-foot WestShore Plaza currently counts AMC Theaters, P.F. Chang’s, Old Navy, JCPenney and dozens of local and national retailers as tenants. A 253,198-square-foot Macy’s on the property is in the process of closing and a Dick’s Sporting Goods late last year.

Sarasota and Manatee

Courtesy image

Connor + Gaskins Vertical been picked as the general contractor for Amara, the luxury condominium project coming to Sarasota’s Golden Gate Point. The Naples firm, according to a statement, will manage the development of the property. Demolition has already begun on the project and fencing has been erected. Amara, being developed by The Ronto Group, will be made up of two eight-story towers with 54 residences, each with more than 2,250 square feet of space. The starting price for units is $4.2 million. The project was approved by the Sarasota planning board last month and will replace Pier 550, a collection of 51 low-rise condominiums built between 1948 and 1953 along a 2.26-acre stretch on Golden Gate Point. The contractor is among the Connor + Gaskins Unlimited Family of Cos. According to its website, its work ranges from “small emergency renovations to managing the largest projects.” 

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This story has been updated to include the sale price of The Centro apartments in Fort Myers.