Benderson Development acquires Sarasota County office building for $25 million
The Floridant/10161248

SARASOTA, Fla. - Floridant -- Sarasota-based Benderson Development has acquired Sarasota County's administration building at 1660 Ringling Blvd. in downtown Sarasota for $25 million.

Paul Carr, Todd Tolbert, Ken Krasnow and Brooke Berkowitz of Colliers facilitated the transaction of the 158,149-square-foot office property.

"This property offered Benderson the ability to expand on their already massive presence in Sarasota County, which includes multiple real estate product types," said Paul Carr, Executive Managing Director, Investment Services, Colliers. "As one of the more prominent developers in the region, Benderson's ability to own and control the potential future redevelopment of over 5.25 acres in downtown Sarasota was very attractive."

Benderson Development's portfolio includes over 45 million square feet of commercial real estate in 40 states.

The deal allows the county to lease back the space in the building for another four years.

"While we had a tremendous amount of investor and developer interest from all over the country and from prospects specializing in many different product types, the key was finding a buyer who was willing to close on the property as is," Carr said.

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According to Carr, the property sits in one of the most desirable downtown submarkets on Florida's west coast. Benderson's acquiring this property, especially without redevelopment plans guaranteed prior to closing, aligns with a current trend in the commercial real estate market.

"The popular saying 'they are not making any more land' is very true, especially for more urban core settings," Carr said. "That means redevelopment of functionally obsolete buildings or corporate surplus properties that sit on attractive land parcels are really going to be the primary avenue for developers and investors to see their visions come to fruition."

Sarasota County has not yet finalized relocation plans for its administrative offices. However, county leaders have discussed moving to county-owned land on Cattleman Road in northern Sarasota County, which would be more centrally located for citizens of the county and some other county facilities.

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. The county tentatively plans to finish construction of the building in the fall of 2025.