Places This Week: Nielsen sells land to Harrod, Smith & Associates sets record

A Tampa commercial real estate developer buys land in Oldsmar, a St. Petersburg apartment investment firm adds a key position, and the area’s largest independent real estate brokerage posted record results for 2020.

Here’s this week’s roundup of local real estate deals and news.

Industrial sale

Brooker Creek V LLC, an entity associated with Harrod Properties in Tampa, bought a parcel of vacant land in Oldsmar from The Nielsen Company. Brooker Creek paid $2.75 million for the land in a deal that closed Feb. 11, according to a deed filed in Pinellas County. The property, classified as industrial, is on Vollmer Avenue, near Nielsen’s Global Technology and Innovation Center in Oldsmar. Harrod, a commercial real estate investment and development company, did not immediately return requests for information on what is planned for the land.

Retail trades hands

Vantage Properties, a privately held commercial real estate and development firm in St. Petersburg, has sold a retail property in Largo to a private investor from south Florida. The 16,000-square-foot property at 10289 Ulmerton Rd. is across the street from the Largo Mall. It’s currently occupied by Petland Largo. 10289 Ulmerton LLC, an entity associated with Vantage Properties, sold the property on Feb. 9 for $3.8 million, a deed filed in Pinellas County said. The buyer, LM Property Holdings LLC, is based in Hialeah Gardens in south Florida.

Stoneweg expansion

Mark Rios has joined Stoneweg US as development manager. It’s a newly created position at the St. Petersburg-based real estate firm that focuses on the multifamily sector.

Mark Rios

Stoneweg plans to expand its development portfolio and Rios will lead that effort, Patrick Richard, Stoneweg CEO, said in a news release. “We’re looking forward to leveraging his knowledge to execute on our existing pipeline, and help build a rich, sustainable and robust development portfolio for our investors,” Richard said.

Rios previously was vice president of real estate development at Metropolitan Ministries in Tampa, where he oversaw construction management for several projects. Before that, he worked for EBI Consulting as a construction consultant.

Stoneweg, based in downtown St. Pete, has a portfolio of more than 12,000 units valued at over $1 billion.

Last year, Stoneweg bought Trellis at the Lakes in north St. Petersburg.

Record year

Smith & Associates Real Estate, the largest locally owned independent real estate brokerage in Tampa-St. Pete, posted $1.63 billion in sales in 2020, a record year for sales volume.

Bob Glaser

Sales were up 8.5 percent across the organization, a news release said.

Smith & Associates was able to pivot after the Covid-19 pandemic hit, using technology for an enhanced digital experience, Bob Glaser, president and CEO, said in the release.

The company said it is the local market leader in luxury home sales, with a 15.4 percent market share for the sale of homes in the $1 million or greater price point. The Smith & Associates team of Mary Pond and Ed Gunning set a company record for associate sales, topping the $100 million sales mark for the first time in 2020.

New office

RE/MAX Local Expert, opened by Marie Drew in 2017, has expanded to a larger and more modern office at 6641 Central Ave. in the West Central Shopping Center in St. Petersburg. The office plans a grand opening on Saturday, Feb. 20 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., with refreshments, giveaways and live entertainment.