Loading
Real Estate Briefs (Sara/Mana edition)
Gibraltar Homes
preps for new office
Sarasota's Gibraltar Homes Inc. filed a site plan to build a new corporate office in Lakewood Ranch Town Center Office Park at 8470 Enterprise Circle. According to Jerry Blumberg, one of the principals of Gibraltar Homes, the company will occupy about 7,500 square feet of the 30,000-square-foot building. A portion of that space will be dedicated to a new state-of-the-art design center. Currently, the home builder occupies 4,000 square feet in a suite at 1133 4th Street, Sarasota.
"It's just a very good site," Blumberg says. "We would have bought it whether we were going to move there or not."
The company plans to include a bank branch in the facility as a tenant. Don Lawson, of the Lawson Group Inc. of Sarasota, designed the building.
"We are hoping to break ground early this fall," he says. "We should be done by fall of '05. This is going to be the most upscale office building in the ranch. We are going to have covered parking and large balconies."
About 15,000 square feet is still available. The leasing agent for the building is Karen Cook, of Michael Saunders & Co.; and the leasing rate for the space is set for about $20 triple net.
Kimal Lumber building new
window-door facility, office
After building a new 40,000-square-foot truss plant last year, Kimal Lumber Co. officials are now developing a window and door facility and a truss facility office.
"We have really far outgrown our current window and door facility (about 13,000 square feet)," says CEO Al Bavry Sr. "We have started building a new 27,000-square-foot building for that. The new truss office building will be 8,000 square feet. (Two weeks ago) we started moving some of the sod around the site (for the office building). Both projects should be done by the end of the year." All of the new facilities are on a 6-acre site at 2000 Carl Martin Ave.
"I can't quantify it but sometime soon we will be adding more jobs," Bavry says. The window and door facility will house at least 30 employees, while the smaller office building will hold about 12 truss designers and supervisors.
The total value of both facilities is about $1.5 million.
So far the move has been good for Kimal, Bavry says. Six months after the new truss facility opened, production is up by 40%.
"We are planning to convert the present window and door facility (200 Carl Martin Ave.) into a showroom and special-order sales facility next year," Bavry says.
Blackpoint Group starts
third, fourth flex buildings
Anthony Mazzucca's The Blackpoint Group has started construction on two additional buildings at Portal Crossing West, adding 28,000 square feet of space within the Commerce Park at Lakewood Ranch. The two buildings are a continuation of the only flex park, flexible office, light industrial or warehouse space, in Lakewood Ranch. The space is designed to serve small- to mid-sized companies under lease or purchase agreements.
"The first two buildings are already fully committed or occupied, and most of buildings three and four are under contract," Mazzucca says. "This only shows the pent-up demand for this flexible combination."
When completed, the $5-million commercial development will include four 14,000- square-foot office/warehouse-buildings located just south of State Road 64. There is also room for another six to eight 15,000-square-foot office buildings along Port Crossing Road north to S.R. 64. A 10,000-square-foot retail and office development is also planned near the intersection of S.R. 64 and Portal Crossing. The total value of the office building component is estimated to be $13 million to $14 million, and the retail building is $2 million to $3 million.
84 Lumber buys
land for store
Eighty Four, Pa.-based 84 Lumber, one of the largest privately-held building material suppliers in the United States, is moving forward with plans to develop a 30,000-square-foot lumber store at 2800 15th St. E. in Bradenton. The company just purchased the property from New Spectrum Inc. for $520,500.
As reported by GCBR last November, the new store is designed to fill in a gap in the market between the company's stores in Tampa, Plant City and Fort Myers. The supplier typically markets itself to high-use construction companies instead of the general public.
No information was immediately available on a possible construction start or opening date for the project.
Ad-VANCE Personnel Services
buys space to relocate offices
Brion Sunseri, owner and president of Bradenton's Ad-VANCE Personnel Services Inc., has relocated Ad-VANCE from its current leased offices at 6513 14th Street W. in Bradenton to the Peridia Business Park at 3911 Gulf Park Loop, Unit 103. Both the Sarasota office of Ad-VANCE and T.O.P.S. Staffing Services, a clerical and professional staffing business, will relocate to a newly purchased facility at 3293 Fruitville Road in Sarasota next month. Sunseri purchased the Sarasota location from Fruitville Business Park Inc. for $322,500. As of publication, no sale had been recorded for the Peridia Business Park location.
"(The new Sarasota office) is a really great location," Sunseri says. "It is a much more visible location."
Ad-VANCE is a full-service human resources company specializing in temporary, temp-to-hire and direct hire staffing, and pre-employment screening and testing.
Coastal Capital Venture buys
Montgomery Avenue building
Coastal Capital Venture has acquired the building it previously leased across the street from the Holiday Inn Marina, at 201 Montgomery Ave., Sarasota. The company purchased the 6,800-square-foot building from Garfair Inc. for $675,000. Joe Holloway, managing member of Coastal Capital Venture, says that two of Coastal Capital's subcompanies, Coastal Aircraft Management and Coastal Yacht Brokerage, will occupy most of the bottom floor.
"We will be leasing out the second floor," he says. "The total space available on the second floor is about 3,400 square feet. We are planning to rent it out as finished executive suites."
Coastal Aircraft Management is an aviation company that specializes in shared aircraft ownership programs and aircraft management. Coastal Yacht Brokerage is a more traditional brokerage company.
Etc...
× Joseph Sebby purchased 514 Colonia Lane in Nokomis from John and Patricia Thomsen for $335,000. Jim Walter, of Richardson Kleiber Walter, handled the sale.
× Fred and Arlene Lansky, owners of Advantage Mortgage of South Florida, purchased a 3,000-square-foot office condominium at 3293 Fruitville Road, Suite 103, Sarasota, from Fruitville Business Park Inc. for $645,000. Advanced Mortgage of South Florida, a correspondent mortgage lender, has relocated to the suite from a 2,000-square-foot leased space at 1740 Main St., Sarasota.
"We have been in business for 20 years," Fred Lansky says. "This is probably something I should have done 19 years ago. I figure I have probably paid more than a $1 million in rent over the last 20 years. We definitely have plans for expansion."
The Lanskies, who used the corporate name of Lanco Properties Inc. for the transaction, mortgaged the property to Wachovia Bank for $580,500.
× Taylor Woodrow, a homebuilder whose North American corporate office is in Bradenton, has teamed up with Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, Inc., a subsidiary of Wells Fargo & Co., to launch a home mortgage company. John Peshkin, chief executive officer at Taylor Woodrow North America Inc. says the new venture, Taylor Woodrow Mortgage, will serve both Florida and Texas homebuyers.
× Lennar/USHome and Sarasota County Utilities have broken ground on a partnership sewer main project to serve future residents of Stoneybrook at Venice as well as the adjacent areas of Venice.
"We're pleased to partner with the county to ensure that pipeline capacity built now will be sufficient to meet the community's future needs," says Tony Squitieri, president of Lennar/USHome's land division for Sarasota, Manatee and Charlotte counties. "By building larger capacity mains now, the county won't have to go in later to enlarge the pipelines as the area grows." The project is scheduled to be complete in the fall.
× The Sarasota Association of Realtors has formed the Realtor Affordable Housing Fund under the auspices of the Community Foundation of Sarasota County.
"Housing is our business," says Nick Figlow, the current president of the Sarasota Association of Realtors. "Promoting affordable, quality housing for all citizens at all income levels is a major concern of Realtors. Everyone deserves an opportunity to enjoy decent housing that doesn't break the bank."
Proceeds from the association's annual fundraiser, Realtor Day, held in April, benefited the new Realtor Affordable Housing Fund. In addition, the association's program committee plans a number of fundraising events for Realtors this year to add to the fund.
× Greg Chona, who operates as Raymond James Financial Services, leased 465 square feet at 8486 S. Tamiami Trail. Rico Boeras, of Preferred Commercial Inc., was the broker for the transaction.
× Hargarthen Tax Advisory Group Inc. leased 1,100 square feet at 8490 S. Tamiami Trail. Rico Boeras, of Preferred Commercial Inc., was the broker for the transaction.
× MTN Capital Partners leased 1,100 square feet at 7319 Merchants Court. Rico Boeras, of Preferred Commercial Inc., represented the lessee, and Peter Goldfine, of Michael Saunders & Co., represented the lessor.
× The ADP Group, a Sarasota architecture, interior design and planning firm, reports that sales are up 60% for 2004. The firm now has 32 full-time employees, up from 20 in 2003.
× University Park Country Club has broken ground on an expansion of the clubhouse facility at 7671 Park Blvd. Once it's completed, the new expanded dining facility will accommodate groups of 300 or more in conjunction with the Cafe terrace.
× In an internal transaction, Daniel and Kristie Via transferred industrial light warehouse land at 6111 Porter Way, Sarasota, to DVP Holdings Inc., owned by Daniel Via. The deed listed a transaction price of $614,900.
× Bradenton's Homes by American Sterling has started selling an "Environments for Living" program in some of its new homes. The program, run by MASCO Inc., a large construction supply company, focuses on tight framing construction, fresh-air ventilation, improved insulation systems, "right-sized' HVAC equipment, pressure balancing, interior moisture management and combustion safety. The biggest advantage of the program to home buyers is greater energy efficiency, which is designed to pay back the cost of the program (about $6,500 per home) over the life of the home.
Before a house is built, MASCO does an energy calculation of the plans. It determines the average cost of heating and cooling the home based on the materials used and the square footage. For each home, the price of the guaranteed heating and cooling bill is unique.
During the construction phase of the home, specially trained technicians install the framing and the insulation in a more efficient manner than traditional construction. Other things, such as the windows, are specifically designed for keeping out excess heat. High efficiency HVAC equipment is installed in the home. Multiple air-ducts and return air grilles are added to help circulate fresh air, decrease humidity, and reduce energy use. A carbon monoxide alarm is also installed for extra safety.
Homes by American Sterling is the only builder to offer "Environments for Living" program in Manatee and Sarasota counties.
× US Home has opened two new furnished model homes in Stone Harbour, one of six neighborhoods within the Stoneybrook Community of Heritage Harbour. The Grand Weston Flex is 2,705 square feet and offers three bedrooms, a den, family, living and dining rooms plus a bonus room with 425 square feet. The Dover Flex is a two-bedroom, two bath model with an optional third bedroom or study. The Dover Flex has 1,922 square feet of living space.
× Five months into 2004, the Lee Wetherington Cos. has completed its 200th sale, according to Lee Wetherington, president and CEO. This compares with year-end sales of 304 homes for 2003. Earlier sales records were 190 homes in 2001 and 206 homes in 2002.
× Atlanta-based HomeBanc Mortgage Corp., the largest home mortgage lender in the Southeast, has signed a five-year lease for a 7,200-square-foot facility at 2 N. Tamiami Trail. The lease marks the company's first foray into Sarasota.
× RB-1 Inc. bought a 40,000-square-foot warehouse building with office space, at 1470 Northgate Blvd. in Sarasota, from P. Douglas McCraw for $1.895 million. Barry Seidel, of American Property Group, handled the transaction.
Your free article limit has been reached this month.
Subscribe now for unlimited digital access to our award-winning business news.
Join thousands of executives who rely on us for insights spanning Tampa Bay to Naples.
