BOTA Center, the award-winning, historic retail property located at 1570 Boulevard of the Arts in Sarasota’s burgeoning Rosemary District, has come to market.
Seller Howard Davis, who spent nearly two years restoring the 17,285-square-foot property, has retained Ian Black Real Estate as the exclusive listing agent for the property. The listing price is $4.25 million.
The building is currently fully leased to four tenants, including Hive Architects, digital marketing firm AdRizer, architect Max Strang and upscale home staging company iStage.
“In this market, the supply of quality investment-grade commercial real estate that attracts the small- to medium-size investor is few and far between, and this property happens to fit the bill,” said Ian Black, founder and partner of Ian Black Real Estate. “BOTA Center checks all the boxes – a historically restored building, strong tenants, rental rates at or below market value, and the potential that comes with the ability to transfer residential density anywhere in the Rosemary District.”
The building was constructed in 1957 as a showroom for Baker Badcock Furniture. After Badcock Furniture moved out in 2005, the property remained vacant for 10 years. Davis, who has worked in real estate development for over 35 years, purchased the property in 2016.
Davis orchestrated a complete renovation that included maintaining the building’s mid-century modern architectural features, restoring nearly 8,000 square feet of original terrazzo flooring, installing all new building systems and configuring the floorplan to accommodate multiple tenants. The rehabilitated building reopened in 2017.
“As a developer, what excites me is realizing the dream – taking a property from concept to reality, and providing great spaces for my tenants and buyers,” Davis said. “With BOTA Center, where others saw an abandoned furniture store, I saw a building with great potential in an exciting part of a terrific city.”
The restored BOTA Center has won numerous awards, including the AIA Florida Gulf Coast Honor Award for Historic Preservation & Restoration in 2020 and the Florida Trust for Historic Preservation’s Outstanding Achievement for Adaptive Use in 2018. It is listed in the City of Sarasota’s local register of historic places.
“Five years after buying the building, BOTA Center has been revitalized, is filled with tenants and the area’s growth has exceeded expectations,” Davis said. “It’s a good time to hand the keys to a new owner and for me to move on to my next Sarasota project.”
A vacant 6,250-square-foot lot zoned for parking, located 100 feet from the BOTA Center on Kumquat Court, is also available for sale. The listing price is $450,000.
About Ian Black Real Estate
Ian Black Real Estate (IBRE) is a boutique commercial real estate brokerage firm located in Sarasota, Fla. The firm is one of the largest commercial brokerage firms in Southwest Florida and boasts a deep knowledge of the commercial real estate market in Sarasota and Manatee counties and the surrounding area. For more information, visit ian-black.com.