Real estate investor buys Town Plaza

BUYER: Atria Plaza LLC (principal: Neil Orkin), St. Petersburg

SELLER: MLQ-MLL LLC

PROPERTY: 1846 and 1910 62nd Ave. N.E., St Petersburg

PRICE: $2.9 million

PREVIOUS PRICE: $6 million, April 2007

LAW FIRM ON DEED: Haynes and Boone LLP, Dallas

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: A company led by St. Petersburg-based real estate investor Neil Orkin purchased the 67,050-square-foot Town Plaza shopping center for $2.9 million.

The price equated to $43 per square foot.

The property included four buildings built in 1968 and 1972. Major tenants in the center include Dollar General, Pet Food Warehouse and American Karate Studio. At the time of closing, the property was just less than 80% leased.

Mark Shellabarger, senior vice president with CBRE, represented the seller.

“The new owners plan to completely renovate the center to attract more tenants and make it a vibrant shopping center,” Shellabarger says in a press release. Orkin owns two other similar shopping centers in Pinellas County.