Sarasota Toyota dealership property sells for $14 million

The Sarasota Toyota dealership property on South Tamiami Trail has been sold, and the buyers are connected to a pair of car dealerships in Polk County.

Doherty Holdings Seventeenth LLC and Sarasota Toy Cars LLC purchased the property at 7435 S. Tamiami Trail for $14 million in January, according to Sarasota County property records. A service center and showroom were included, records show. Terms of the deal — not including the building — were not disclosed.

The address for Doherty Holdings Seventeenth LLC and Sarasota Toy Cars LLC is 2925 Mall Hill Dr. in Lakeland, which corresponds to Lakeland Toyota. Christopher Doherty is the owner of that dealership. He also owns Lakeland Motors, which does business as Lakeland Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram. Doherty is also the manager of Doherty Holdings Seventeenth LLC and Sarasota Toy Cars LLC, according to the Florida Division of Corporations.

Walter Thomas, who is listed as the registered agent for Doherty Holdings Seventeenth and Sarasota Toy Cars, did not respond to a request for comment from the Business Observer about the deal in Sarasota. 

The seller of the Sarasota Toyota property is RJS Inc., which is tied to a residential address on Gulf of Mexico Drive on Longboat Key.

Robert J. Dockery is listed as the registered agent for RJS Inc., according to the Florida Division of Corporations. Property records show that Dockery was also the previous seller of 7435 S. Tamiami Trail in 1999, when it sold for $1,512,100.