Sarasota company buys USDA laboratory in Manatee County

By Staff Report

Sarasota Herald-Tribune

Oct 18, 2018 at 3:33 PM

The 28,210 SF building at 7525 Commerce Court is leased by the U.S. Agriculture Department's sterile insect release program. Photo credit: Halfacre Construction

SARASOTA — A Sarasota-based company that invests in government-leased buildings bought a new, 28,210-square-foot, single-tenant office and laboratory building in southern Manatee County that was developed for the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

HC Government Realty Trust Inc. declined to disclose what it paid for the property at 7525 Commerce Court, Sarasota. The USDA has a 20-year lease for the entire building that ends in 2038, the company said. It was completed this year.

The building was designed and built for $12 million to the requirements of the Agriculture Department’s sterile insect release program, according to a 2016 Herald-Tribune article. It was developed in a joint venture by Hokenson Cos. of Indianapolis and North Florida Government Properties LLC, based in Tallahassee, said Ed Stanton, chief executive officer of HC Government Realty Trust and Holmwood Capital Advisors, the REIT’s external manger.

The developers were the sellers, Stanton said. The Stan Johnson Co. was the buyer’s broker.

“This acquisition marks quite a unique opportunity for the company both in the very specific function of the facility for the USDA and the property’s location right in our back yard,” Stanton said in a news release.

“This property is the first of its kind serving as the prototype for the USDA’s new sterile insect release facilities and replaces their previous location with a brand new, high-tech facility.”

The HC Government Realty Trust said that its real estate portfolio has 16 properties with approximately 321,000 rentable square feet and houses 11 tenants in 11 states. The company’s corporate headquarters are at 1819 Main St., Suite 212, Sarasota.