Commercial Real Estate Profile: Steven Kossoff | Meridian Development Group, Tampa

Some people doubted Steve Kossoff and his then 5-year-old company, Meridian Development Group, could pull off the Winn Dixie challenge in 2006.

The task: Renovate and lease a 907,237-square-foot vacant former Winn Dixie distribution facility in south Sarasota County. But 18 months later, the facility, renamed Meridian Distribution Center, was 75% occupied. It now stands as a regional example of a successful repurposed project.

Kossoff has gone on to have other successes in the region. Tampa-based Meridian now has a portfolio of 1.91 million square feet of industrial and office space spread through Sarasota, Tampa Bay and Raleigh, N.C. The company, with six employees, also manages space in Tampa-St. Petersburg and Buffalo for clients.