Tampa Bay investor pays $43 million for Fort Myers apartment

Cape Coral

Pinellas real estate developer acquires local shopping center

The Shops at Surfside, a Cape Coral shopping center, has been sold to a Pinellas County real estate developer. The center at 2354 Surfside Blvd. was bought for $12.3 million by Trifon Houvardas, the owner and broker of Foresight Property Services in Oldsmar. (It was not immediately clear if Houvardas bought the property as an individual or in his role at Foresight.) The Shops at Surfside, according to a listing on LoopNet, is 117,556 square feet and sits on 8.26 acres just off the Veterans Memorial Parkway. The listing says it is fully occupied. Lee County property records show the previous owner is a Naples-based LLC that paid $7 million for the center in 2021. Matthews, the Nashville commercial real estate firm that represented Houvardas and announced the sale, says in a statement that the center is anchored by Belk and Anytime Fitness, along with “a diverse roster” of tenants. That roster, according the center’s website, includes the eateries Torched Bar & Grill, Ginger Bistro Cape Coral and Keg & Cow. Matthews agent Daniel Gonzalez represented Houvardas in the deal.

Fort Myers

Tampa buyer and investor buys apartment complex

The Cobblestone on The Lake Apartments in Fort Myers have sold to Tampa Bay investor Ben Mallah of Equity Management in an off-market sale. The 248-unit community at 4400 Cortina Circle between Colonial Boulevard and Winkler Avenues sold for $43 million. The community is made up of 248 units, both apartments and townhouses, and the purchase includes a two-building shell structure that can accommodate up to 42 additional townhomes or residential units, says Miami-based GLT Group Brokerage, which announced the sale. The firm’s managing director and lead broker Sean Shahar A. Ziv represented the seller, a New York investor, and found the buyer.

Naples

Broker: office complex sale a sign sector remains strong

A two-building Naples office complex has sold to a group of local investors in a deal the broker says proves the sector remains strong in the city. The buildings— Collier Place 1 and 2 — are at 3001 9th St. N., just off U.S Highway 41 and north of Harbour Drive. Collier Place sold for $23.26 million to an LLC named Collier Place Owner. The seller is Collier Place Holdings, which, Collier County property records show, paid $12.85 million in 2019. Max Molloy, a senior broker associate with Fort Myers-based LSI Cos., says the buyer is a group of local investors that bought it together and plan to make some improvements. The 60,572-square-foot complex sits on about 3.6 acres and was 97% occupied at the time of sale, with about 15 tenants. “Naples is kind of in a renaissance and really there's still a need for Class A office space,” Molloy says. “Office,” he says later, “may be struggling in other markets, but in Naples, in particular core Naples, there's still absolutely investor appetite for it.” Molloy brokered the deal along with LSI’s Alex Henderson and Sawyer Gregory.

Brandon

Texas retailer expands to local mall

Courtesy image

A Texas-based Western wear outfitter known for its handcrafted cowboy boots, hats and workwear will soon open its first Tampa Bay store, inside a Brandon shopping mall. Cavender’s Boot City has signed a lease for a 15,000-square-foot location that formerly housed a DSW Designer Shoe Warehouse at the Brandon Exchange mall, at 949 Brandon Town Center Drive. Cavender’s plans to open to the public Sept. 25, according to a statement. The chain is preparing to open two more Florida stores this fall — in Orange Park and Ocala. Cavender’s currently operates one other store in Florida, in Orlando off International Drive. It’s one of more than 130 locations spread across 18 states.

Sarasota

County announces financing for affordable housing projects

Sarasota County is taking applications to provide funding for the developers of affordable single-family houses and will later offer up to $75,000 per household in purchase assistance for those homes. The developer funding is through Sarasota County’s Acquisition, Rehabilitation and New Construction for Homeownership program and is for houses built or rehabbed in unincorporated portions of the county. The funding for the initiative is up to $1.35 million and comes from Florida’s State Housing Initiatives Partnership program. According to a statement, the money is earmarked for public, private or nonprofit developers working on single-family homes to be sold to households earning up to 80% of Sarasota County's Area Median Income. The application portal opened June 22 and will close Aug. 3 at 5 p.m.

Bradenton

Downtown building lands national tenant

Kimley-Horn, the planning and design consulting firm, has signed a lease for a 10,651-square-foot space at the Bradenton Financial Center in downtown Bradenton. Terms of the lease were not disclosed. The Raleigh, North Carolina-based company will occupy a full floor following a renovation that will include conference rooms and a mix of private offices and open workspaces, says Cushman & Wakefield, which represented the building’s owner, Salvan Capital. Salvan paid for $14.95 million for the 12-story, 117,000-square-foot building in 2019. Bradenton Financial Center is at 1401 W. Manatee Ave. It has an on-site parking garage, ground-floor dining and a three-story atrium. Its current tenant mix includes Bank of America, Mauldin & Jenkins, Morgan Stanley and Holland Law Group. Kimley-Horn has more than 160 offices across North America. Cushman & Wakefield’s Wendy Giffin represented Savlan.

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