ECHO Realty Acquires Sarasota-Based Shopping Center

SARASOTA, FL—Pittsburgh-based ECHO Realty reports it has acquired the 140,000-square-foot Paradise Plaza Shopping Center here.

The property, located at the intersection of US Route 41, Bay/Bee Ridge Roads, and South Osprey Avenue in Sarasota, is anchored by grocer Publix, CVS, and Petco. The Publix store totals 49,000 square feet, CVS comprises 16,000 square feet, and Petco has 12,000 square feet. Other tenants at the property include: Hallmark, Pure Barre, The UPS Store, Hand & Stone, Einstein Bros. Bagels, TCBY, Silverberg Jewelry, and Smoothie King.

The property was purchased from a partnership between Paradise Ventures and E.J. Plesko & Associates. Curtis Crenshaw of Coastal Companies and Tad Templeton of the Templeton Group brokered the transaction. No financial terms of the transaction, which closed on Aug. 5, were released.

The center originally opened as Crossroads Plaza in 1959, added Publix in 1995, and was redeveloped by the sellers of the property in 2005.

ECHO has appointed Crossman & Company of Orlando, FL as local property manager and leasing agency at Paradise Plaza, which will work closely with ECHO's Pittsburgh and Washington-based management and leasing teams.

ECHO Realty says it is currently has leases out for signature to two major tenants, which will occupy the former 20,000-square-foot Borders location fronting US Route 41. Interest has also been expressed for the remaining 2,500 square feet of small shop space at the property.

ECHO Realty, a privately-held developer and owner of grocery-anchored shopping centers has offices in Pittsburgh, PA, Washington, DC and Indianapolis, IN. Its portfolio consists of more than 190 properties in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Maryland, West Virginia and Florida.