Sarasota County sells downtown admin building to developer for $25 million
Benderson Development has bought Sarasota County’s administration building at 1660 Ringling Blvd. in downtown Sarasota for $25 million.
But neither the county nor developer have plans for immediate changes to the property, which sits in one of the most desirable downtown submarkets on Florida’s west coast.
The deal allows the county to lease the building for another four years, while Benderson gets long-term prospects for major redevelopment.
“Benderson’s ability to own and control the potential future redevelopment of over 5.25 acres in downtown Sarasota was very attractive,” said Paul Carr, executive managing director of investment services for Colliers, an investment management company that facilitated the deal.
Carr said there was “tremendous amount of investor and developer interest from all over the country,” but “the key was finding a buyer who was willing to close on the property as is.”
Buying a valuable property without confirmed plans for redevelopment is a trend in commercial real estate, he said.
“The popular saying ‘they are not making any more land’ is very true, especially for more urban core settings,” Carr said.
The Sarasota County Commission voted unanimously in October to add the new administration center project to the county’s Capital Improvement Program, which is a multi-year plan for renovations and major infrastructure projects.
Commissioners have not finalized relocation plans for the administrative offices. County leaders have discussed moving to county-owned land on Cattlemen Road in northern Sarasota County, which would be more centrally located for citizens and other county facilities.
The county tentatively plans to finish construction of the building in the fall of 2025.
Benderson Development, with headquarters in southern Manatee County in University Park, has more than 45 million square feet of commercial real estate in 40 states in its portfolio.
Carr, Todd Tolbert, Ken Krasnow and Brooke Berkowitz of Colliers facilitated the transaction of the 158,149-square-foot office property.
