- October 21, 2026
-
-
Loading
Loading
A Lakewood Ranch commercial development site has sold for $3.75 million, and the new owner plans to build a 7-Eleven store on the nearly 3.3-acre property, according to SVN Commercial Advisory Group.
Equitable National Property Company LLC was the seller of 11500 44th Ave. E., represented by agents Tony Veldkamp and Matt Fenske of SVN Commercial Advisory Group, the agency says in a statement.
The buyer is White Eagle Group LLC, an entity tied to St. Petersburg-based RKM Development, a retail developer specializing in single-tenant and anchored retail centers and build-to-suit projects for nationally recognized brands throughout Florida and the Southeast. Some of RKM Development’s local projects include 7-Eleven stores in Palmetto, Parrish and Bradenton and more recently, a RaceTrac gas station on US 301 in Sarasota.
On its newly acquired Lakewood Ranch property at the corner of 44th Avenue East and White Eagle Boulevard, RKM Development plans to build a 7-Eleven gas station and convenience store on the hard corner, with a second pad reserved for a future commercial user, according to a statement. The site is zoned planned development mixed-use.
“This was a rare opportunity for RKM to acquire a highly visible commercial site surrounded by significant residential growth in Lakewood Ranch,” Veldkamp says in the statement.
“The combination of the hard-corner location, strong regional connectivity via the 44th Avenue East/Cortez Road expansion project, and limited remaining commercial parcels in the area made it especially compelling," Veldkamp says. "The response from the market reinforced that demand, with seven offers received for the property through our call-for-offers process.”
While demand was high, some in the local community were against a 7-Eleven being built that, due to what they said was "an eyesore" of a project and "a safety hazard for school children attending" nearby schools, according to a story in the East County Observer, sister paper of the Business Observer. Those residents, the East County Observer reported, threatened to boycott the gas station in the hope that it would go out of business.
