MGA to occupy Rutenberg building

BUYER: Ranch Property Holdings LLC (principals: Lou and Ann Marie Marinaccio), Lakewood Ranch

SELLER: MCF Florida LLC

PROPERTY: 9415 and 9423 Town Center Parkway, Bradenton

PRICE: $1.48 million

PREVIOUS PRICE: $2 million, October 2010

TITLE FIRM ON DEED: University Title Services LLC, Lakewood Ranch

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: An affiliate of MGA Insurance Group purchased the 12,000-square-foot former Arthur Rutenberg building for $1.48 million.

The price equated to $123 per square foot.

The Peace River Water Authority recently agreed to lease 7,500 square feet in the building. MGA Insurance Group, which currently operates from a building at 9024 Town Center Parkway, plans to relocate its MGA Property & Casualty department into the remainder of the building.

“There's been a shift in the insurance marketplace away from national companies to local companies that can give local service,” says Lou Marinaccio, the company's CEO. “We've really been absorbing a lot of business from these national companies.”

The expansion and department growth are creating several additional jobs, he says.

Marinaccio says the 9-year-old building was built to a “superior standard” by the former owner/homebuilder Arthur Rutenberg.

Ian Black and Steve Horn of Ian Black Real Estate represented the buyer. Anthony Homer of Lakewood Ranch Commercial Realty represented the seller and handled the Peace River Water Authority lease.

The purchase entity Ranch Property Holdings LLC mortgaged the building to Wells Fargo Bank NA for $1.11 million.