Sterling Gets Back to Strong Suit

TAMPA, FL-Sterling American Property Inc. caught the local commercial real estate market by surprise when it purchased Park Tower, the city’s oldest skyscraper, for $50 million in January 2006. The idea was to return the aging structure to the same class A status it enjoyed upon its opening 35 years ago.

Now that the New York-based investment fund management firm has met its objectives with the 36-story building, it’s looking to sell it at a possible 30% profit. Yet it isn’t looking to pull out of Tampa Bay for good, partnering in an apartment complex near the University of South Florida campus with a collegiate housing developer.

Sterling American announced July 21 that it purchased the 540-unit St. Croix Apartments in a joint venture with Gainesville-based Collier Cos. The deal is valued at just under $38.4 million, with Sterling American committing nearly $3 million to capital improvements geared toward enhancing the property’s market value.