Gulf Coast developer Charles Githler and partners based in New York announced the acquisition of the Northern Trust Plaza downtown. From the press release:

Charles Githler and two partners who operate New York based EDM Realty Partners completed the acquisition of The Northern Trust Plaza, an 11-story, class A office property in the heart of downtown Sarasota; at the corner of south Pineapple and Ringling Boulevard.

The sale was brokered by Grant Savage and Alfie Hamilton of Colliers International representing the Seller and Githler Real Estate Group, LLC representing the Buyer who was represented by attorney and closing agent, J. Kevin Drake, P.A.. The Purchase Price was $17 million, plus significant reserves for further renovation and future tenant build out. The Seller is a partnership made up of Peter Gardner and William Driscoll.

In 2005, they acquired the property from its original owner/ developer, Northern Trust, the $6 trillion assets under custody bank which operates 85 offices in 18 U.S. states and 20 international offices, according to Wikipedia. Savills Studley, a leading commercial real estate firm specializing in structured finance, arranged a $12.765 million long-term loan for the acquisition. The firm’s Managing Directors Stephanie Lynch and Lindsay Stroud led the debt team to place the fixed-rate, loan through Goldman Sachs.

“Northern Trust Plaza perfectly illustrates the strength of the Sarasota office market, as it commands top rents and generates lots of interest from investors,” Lynch said. “We believe that the new joint venture has the vision and track record to further enhance this unique downtown asset for years to come.”

The Northern Trust Plaza office building enjoys a reputation that is second to none-- offering sweeping views from its 11 floors of Sarasota’s dynamic city scape, downtown and the waterfront. Occupying one third of the entire building, Northern Trust hosts functions for clients and leading nonprofit organizations in its 11th floor executive dining rooms.

Also headquartered in the building are several of the region’s leading law firms and large corporations including Ferguson Skipper Shaw Keyer Baron & Tirabassi, Old Republic, Adams and Reese LLP, CS&A Accountants and Comcast. Located at 1515 Ringling Boulevard, the property was originally completed in 1982 and was recently renovated in 2016, including improvements to the building’s lobby and common areas. It features amenities such as an on-site banking branch, 24/7 access, an on-site dry cleaning service and state-ofthe-art internet connectivity.