Places This Week – Southern Guaranty’s new HQ, Florida Candy, Pinellas Park industrial, Clearwater mayor

St. Petersburg College sold its former headquarters to an insurance company that’s expanding. The Angel Mints production space has a new owner. An Atlanta developer snaps up industrial property in Pinellas Park. A former Clearwater mayor buys a new home.

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

Corporate HQ

St. Petersburg College sold its former headquarters at 6021 142nd Ave. N. to Southern Guaranty Insurance Co.

The property will remain a headquarters site. The building will become the new corporate headquarters for Southern Guaranty, said Shane Crawford, vice president.

Southern Guaranty offers supplemental health, medical, critical illness and indemnity insurance products and services, and is growing rapidly, Crawford said.

Southern Guaranty paid $6.8 million for the two-story, 78,000-square-foot building on May 21, Pinellas County property records show. The insurance company took out a $5.44 million mortgage with Bank of America.

The new building is a two-minute drive from the company’s current location at 13600 Icot Blvd., where Southern Guaranty shares space with other companies owned by CEO Dale Schmidt.

St. Petersburg College relocated its headquarters to downtown St. Petersburg in April.

Florida Candy

The Florida Candy Factory has been making Angel Mints, the popular peppermint candy, and salt water taffy in Clearwater since 1984. Now, the company and the production facilities have a new owner.

Angel Mints (Photo credit: Florida Candy)

Gerald S. Rehm & Associates sold the manufacturing, warehouse and office space at 699-725 Lakeview Road for $1.072 million on May 28, according to a deed filed in Pinellas County.

Lincoln Avenue Land, a company headed by Robert Noell, bought the property.

“The Candy Factory business was sold a couple weeks prior to my purchase of the real estate and other assets,” Noell said in an email to the St. Pete Catalyst. “The new owners of the Candy Factory intend to continue the business. The new owners are from Argentina and seem to have a lot of energy. I think you’ll begin to see more of the Angel Mints. The Rehm family remains close by to provide advice and guidance regarding not only the Candy Factory, but to me too as the new owner of the property.”

Noell said he will catch up on deferred maintenance but no major changes are planned.

Noell also owns the Treasure Island Fun Center, an arcade in Seminole.

The Rehm family was headed by the late Jerry Rehm, a former three-term mayor of Dunedin and state legislator. His son, Scott Rehm, joined his father in the business in 1999.

Salt Water Taffy (Photo credit: Florida Candy)

Industrial

Stonemont Financial Group, a private real estate investment firm in Atlanta, bought industrial property in Pinellas Park in two separate deals in early June.

On June 2, Stonemont bought a 90,000-square-foot property at 6101 45th St. N. from Gulfcoast Financial Partners for $4.3 million, Pinellas property records show. The next day, Stonemont paid $12.36 million when it bought three adjacent buildings totaling 120,000 square feet from Park Industrial Properties. 

“Stonemont continues to pursue strategic industrial investment opportunities in Central Florida and elsewhere that align with our future growth initiatives. We are unfortunately unable to publicly comment on our Pinellas Park project at this time, but we look forward to sharing the exciting news on our progress in the near future,” Neal Moskowitz, senior vice president at Stonemont Financial Group, said in a statement.

6101 45th St. N. (Photo credit: Loopnet)

Stonemont signed a $44 million mortgage with Valley National Bank for both parcels.

The sellers, Gulfcoast Financial Partners and Park Industrial Properties, each have local owners.

Park Industrial completed a big purchase of its own on June 3, buying a 204,000-square-foot industrial property at 12200 34th St. N. for $4.1 million. The purchase included vacant land north of the property on 126th Ave. The seller was Staples Investment Partners, headed by Jack Staples, former owner of Maximo Marina.

New home

Former Clearwater Mayor George Cretekos and his wife, Carolyn Cretekos, bought a condo at Residences at Belleview Place. The couple paid $1.165 million for the home, according to a deed filed in Pinellas County on June 8.

Belleview Place, near Clearwater Harbor and the Belleair Country Club, is a luxury condo and carriage home development at the site of the former Belleview Biltmore Hotel. The hotel has been transformed into the boutique Belleview Inn.