New owner secures San Marco anchor space

LAKEWOOD RANCH — When San Marco Plaza opened to the public in 2007, business owners had a grand vision for the center that’s modeled after the famed 800-year-old piazza of San Marco in Venice, Italy.

Among them were dreams to bring the longest-running family-owned dinner playhouse, the Golden Apple Dinner Theatre, to the mix as the plaza’s anchor tenant.

But nearly a decade later, the 8,555-square-foot anchor space remains a shell with more than 30-foot-high ceilings, a dirt floor and stubs for electrical, plumbing and other utilities connections.

But the location could get a second act.

As of May 8, the space at 8205 Natures Way, Unit 111 has a new owner: San Marco Anchor. The Massachusetts-based investment company plans to find a long-term tenant that will bring success both as an investment property and for the plaza overall.

“I think we were in the right place at the right time,” said Chris Reenstierna, managing partner for San Marco Anchor, a division of CRE Asset Advisors. “I think it’s a great retail center, and it’s a center that needs the anchor to be successful like any other retail center. We’re certainly more than willing to work with everybody involved in the overall development in Lakewood Ranch and make sure the appropriate user gets in there. We’re pretty confident it will succeed this time.”

San Marco Anchor’s position is unique in that the company purchased the mortgage and foreclosed on it, rather than buying the unit itself.

Golden Apple owners Bob Turoff and his wife, actress Roberta MacDonald who died last month at 81, took the original $810,000 mortgage on the property July 24, 2007, with plans to build out the space as a dinner theater with a second-level mezzanine, which would provide an additional 6,000 square feet of space. 

Instead, the property has sat vacant for more than eight years. The mortgage holder, which changed several times over the years, never foreclosed until San Marco Anchor took possession of the Turoffs’ original promissory note and the January 2009 renewal of the note Dec. 30, 2014, and began the foreclosure process. The court executed the certificate of sale April 27. The sale was completed May 8, although the change did not show in Manatee County property records as of press time Tuesday.

“The whole plaza is excited about it,” said Barb Smith, president of the San Marco Condominium Association and owner of 2nd Ann Rose, a consignment boutique. “It’s been in limbo for so long. The suspense is killing us. We need something that’s going to draw (people). We want something with night life.”

Zak Mestancik and Kirsten George, owners of D’Lites Shoppe, which opened in the plaza May 6, are excited about the news.

“It definitely brings more awareness to us and gets our name out there,” Mestancik said of having a future anchor tenant. “Obviously, we bought (our unit) without the anchor. We like the feel and the atmosphere (of this place).”

“We’re certainly more than willing to work with everybody involved in the overall development in Lakewood Ranch and make sure the appropriate user gets in there.”

 

— Chris Reenstierna, managing partner of San Marco Anchor

 

Carmen Spagnola, owner of Cheers for Wine (formerly WineStyles), one of a handful of original business owners in the plaza, said he is excited to see the property’s affairs settled but knows finding the right tenant will be critical.

“I’m hopeful somebody steps in who has the financial capability and the (business acumen) to open and operate (a business),” he said. “Somebody needs to come in with money and an idea that will work. We’re still in the mode of finding a tenant, finding the right idea.”

Realtor/broker Barry Seidel, of American Property Group, who represents the property with his son, Adam Seidel, said he sent out a preliminary notification to more than 5,000 prospective clients. An extensive package on the property, for listing purposes, will be available this week. 

Marketing could target a restaurant, entertainment venue or combination of the two.

“Everything is there, ready for the beginnings of construction of a restaurant or an entertainment venue,” Seidel said. “We’re looking forward to finding a successful tenant and having a great venue for the people of Lakewood Ranch to visit.”

Contact Pam Eubanks at [email protected].