Part of Tyrone Square Mall sells for $37.8M

Bernadette Berdychowski, Tampa Bay Times
Updated ·2 min read

A parcel of Tyrone Square Mall with a Dick’s Sporting Goods and a potential new grocery store has sold for $37.8 million, according to a news release from the attorney representing the buyer’s lender. The sale closed Thursday.

Real estate developer Seritage Growth Properties sold its stake in the St. Petersburg shopping center at 2300 Tyrone Blvd. to Boston Capital LLC, the release said. Records show Boston Capital LLC has an address linked to an A+ Mini Storage facility in Miami.

Seritage owned a wing of Tyrone Square Mall that also includes a Five Below and PetSmart. Simon Property Group, which also owns International Mall, maintains ownership of the rest of the St. Pete shopping center.

Seritage and the storage company tied to Boston Capital LLC did not immediately respond to requests for comment Friday.

“The St. Pete market continues to attract investment as the area experiences strong levels of growth, and this transaction underscores why City National Bank chose to enter the Tampa Bay area in 2021,” attorney Daniel Diaz Leyva said in an emailed statement. “It also demonstrates my client’s ability to fund high-quality assets in one of Florida’s top-performing retail markets.”

The buyer received a $16.5 million loan from City National Bank of Florida, the release said.

Seritage has a track record of redeveloping old Sears department stores across the nation, including at Tyrone and Clearwater’s Countryside Mall, which transformed into a Whole Foods Market. In 2017, Seritage split Tyrone Square Mall’s Sears into a Dick’s Sporting Goods and a space that’s struggled to hold a grocery store for years.

That struggling space first held a Lucky’s Market before the chain abruptly left Florida in 2019. Then it was a Hitchcock Green Market, which closed last year. Soon, German-discount supermarket Aldi is expected to fill the space.

But because Aldi, which is set to acquire 400 stores from Florida-based grocer Winn-Dixie, and the influx of residents to the Tampa Bay region, Diaz Levya said City National Bank of Florida felt confident to invest in the property.

“It’s a very good sign of strength, generally speaking, not only for St. Petersburg, but specifically for this asset that there was enough foot traffic and enough rooftops in the area to call for an Aldi,” Diaz Leyva said. “And the fact that Aldi is there will only help to buoy and support the existing tenant.”