Hourglass District corner lot sells after 5 days on the market

A half-acre lot at a prominent corner in the heart of the Hourglass District was scooped up after five days on the market.

Orlando-based Realtor Elise Sabatino and husband Giovanni Fernandez, owners of residential brokerage and property management firm National Real Estate, paid $650,000 cash for the property at the northwest corner of Curry Ford Road and Primrose Drive. The oversize lot currently has a vacant one-story building of about 4,800 square feet.

The property had been owned by the same investment trust controlled by the late Harlow “Bud” Frederick for 40 years, according to Scott Taylor, Principal of Florida Premier Realty Group. The property at 2635 Curry Ford Rd. was one of several investment properties the trust successor elected to sell this year with an eye toward investing the proceeds in a 1031 exchange.

Over the years, the building has been used as an office, a dog kennel and most recently, a church. “The church vacated the property in May,” Taylor said. He marketed the site as a redevelopment opportunity that would benefit from the city’s proposed Curry Ford Vision Plan.

The property was listed for $700,000 and drew multiple offers. The seller chose the East West Place LLC offer because the buyers offered a two-week closing.

Sabatino and Fernandez are already heavily invested in the Curry Ford corridor. They control more than a dozen properties in the Hourglass District and have drawn a variety of boutique eateries and retailers to the area.

They were able to attract quality tenants, such as Foxtail Coffee and Hourglass Brewing, because they spent the money extend sewer service to the properties.

“Our goal has always been to improve the community and add value where we could,” Sabatino told GrowthSpotter in an earlier interview. “We found a niche in redeveloping these existing buildings several years ago.”

Tony Nguyen, managing director of TRG Real Estate, represented the buyers in the deal. “I’ve sold them a majority of properties they own on Curry Ford,” he said. “With this one, the deal just made sense. There are no plans as of yet for the property, but given the history of what they’ve done so far, I think you can expect something special.”

Taylor said the property has C-2 zoning, and the lot is large enough to accommodate a larger building or an addition.

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