Retail, residential, office envisioned for New Port Tampa Bay site on Gandy waterfront

Plans are in the works for a prime stretch of undeveloped waterfront real estate near the intersection of Gandy and Westshore boulevards.

The 51-acre site has sat dormant for nearly a decade, since plans for a condominium development crashed along with the real estate market in 2006. BTI Partners, based in Fort Lauderdale, took title to the property almost a year ago.

The site is south of Gandy Boulevard, at Gandy and Bridge Street.

The newest version of plans for the property including the following,… …read more

Premier Sotheby’s buys Orlando’s Stirling Sotheby’s International Realty

A leading residential real estate firm in southwest Florida has acquired Stirling Sotheby’s International Realty.

Naples-based Premier Sotheby’s International Realty — led by former Oviedo Mayor Judy Green — bought the Heathrow-based Stirling Sotheby’s franchise for an undisclosed price on Oct. 1. The acquisition will bring Premier Sotheby’s another 90 agents, putting its total at 900 associates throughout Central and southwest Florida and in North Carolina.

Stirling Sotheby’s co-founder… …read more

Industrial, office, retail: NAIOP’s state of the Tampa Bay commercial real estate market

Land, industrial, retail, multifamily, office and investment are all sharing a similar reality.

Life is good – for now.

Brokers shared detailed assessments of the state of Tampa Bay’s hopping commercial real estate market in the annual Broker Update from the Tampa chapter of NAIOP.

People patterns drive land demand

The hottest land deals are a function of what’s happening in demographics, with 20 million people slated to move to Florida in the next five years, said Nancy Surak, senior broker… …read more

If millennials aren’t buying homes, don’t blame student loans, Zillow says

Student loans aren’t a big hurdle to homeownership, at least for those who actually graduate with at least a four-year degree, according to real estate website Zillow.

The impact of hefty student loans on career and family and the pace of millennials moving into homeownership have been points of heated debate.

But Zillow says high rents, a growing problem across the country, can be a bigger hurdle to homeownership by making it harder to save for a downpayment. The region’s hefty price tag for housing… …read more

Sneak peek: Inside the Warehouse Lofts in Seminole Heights

“Grit” is rarely a selling point for apartments, but that’s exactly what the developer of the Warehouse Lofts was going for.

Wes Burdette, who is redeveloping the former warehouse at 4513 Florida Ave. into apartments, said he wanted an industrial chic vibe — something that stands out from the luxury apartments dotting the urban core.

The model apartment has exposed cement block walls and a gleaming metal banister leading up to the loft. Of the 54 units in the building, 44 are 720-square-foot… …read more

Land race is on for custom home sites in South Tampa

Brooke Layton can’t seem to buy enough land.

The co-owner of Devonshire Custom Homes plans to close on four sites in the next four weeks — two of which already have buyers lined up.

“Everything I buy, someone seems to want,” Layton said, “and you can’t get customers unless you have the land.”

Demand for custom homes — driven by both locals who want a new house and out-of-town buyers relocating to the region — is pushing up lot prices in the region’s hottest neighborhoods: South… …read more

Jose Garcia: Focus on better housing has wider economic reach

Title, company: Executive director, Rebuilding Together Tampa Bay

Education: B.S.Ed. in Special Education, Universidad Central de Venezuela, Caracas, Venezuela

Named director RTTB: 2007

Arrived in Tampa Bay: 2002

Family interests: History from the discovery of the Americas to medieval

First paid job: Special education teacher

Why Jose is a big deal: RTTB’s mission is to provide decent housing to the most vulnerable sector of the population. With nearly 25 years of experience in the nonprofit… …read more

Gold toilets, a personal hockey rink and more: Behind the doors of custom homes in Tampa Bay

What is the most unusual request you have had from a client?

Mike Bartoletta, Taralon Homes: To install a gold toilet

Brandon Boss, Boss & Mennie Inc.: To build a hockey rink inside a home

Jay Fechtel, The Fechtel Co.: To design and build a “car barn”

T.J. Nutter, Nutter Custom Construction: Glass garage doors

Leslie Bessey, Macale Builders Inc.: We had a three-story, castle-like structure to build.

Stephen Bronstein, Cornerstone Homes and Design: Mid Century Modern home

Joe Triplett,… …read more

Florida Fast 100: Right place. Right time. Right skills.

The key to being one of the fastest-growing companies in Florida , it turns out, is pretty easy: All you have to do is be in the right place at the right time with the right skills.

Of course, figuring out exactly what those right things are is the hard bit.

For the companies that made the 2015 Florida Fast 100 list — health care companies, technology firms, construction businesses and more — making sure they hired the very best people they could, pushed them in the proper direction and focused… …read more

Downtown St. Pete apartments sold for $84.5M

A downtown St. Petersburg apartment development has been sold for $84.5 million.

Alabama-based B&M Management paid $259,202 per apartment for Beacon 430, which is at 430 Third Ave. South, in a deal that closed Thursday.

Beacon is a four-story building, wrapped around a five-story parking garage. The amenity package includes a pool, 3,000-square-foot fitness center, yoga studio and outdoor kitchen.

JBM Multifamily Institutional Advisors of Tampa represented the seller, NRP Group, in the transaction.… …read more