Hoffmann Commercial Real Estate snatches up two more buildings near Third Street for $6.25 million

Hoffmann Commercial Real Estate continues to expand its presence in downtown Naples.

The St. Louis-based real estate holding company, a division of Osprey Capital, has purchased two of five buildings it had under contract on or near Third Street South for $6.25 million.

The properties it has closed on are 393 Broad Ave. S. and 375 13th Ave. S.

The recent purchases bring Hoffmann's portfolio in Old Naples to 14 properties. The buying spree started on Fifth Avenue South.

"This was part of our strategy to continue to buy in old Naples, and we are trying to promote a strategy of connecting the two streets from the shopping experience point of view," said Naples resident David Hoffmann, CEO of Osprey Capital.

The Hoffmanns bought the property on 13th Avenue South from Pratt Shoes Inc., paying $3.4 million for it. The 3,903-square-foot building will continue to house Le Lafayette restaurant, which has a long-term lease.

The property on Broad Avenue was purchased from The 1031 Exchange Connection Inc. for $2.85 million. The 2,817-square-foot building is the former home of Galerie du Soleil. Although the space is vacant, it will soon get a new tenant, Jett Thompson Home, which is relocating from a block away. Renovations are underway.

"It's going to be spectacular," said Jett Thompson, who feels lucky to have landed a lease.

Not only did she beat out competing businesses, Thompson also talked David Hoffmann into making extensive improvements to the building that she believes will benefit her and the owners.

"He spared no expense," Thompson said.

Hoffmann is committed to making a lasting impression with what his company is doing in Naples, Thompson said.  

When he discovered Thompson was the one who had done the interior design work for a friend's house in Boca Grande and heard she had good ideas for repurposing the building on Broad Avenue from his broker, that helped win him over, she said. 

Thompson formally presented the design to David Hoffmann in June.

"Jett Thompson Interiors is a quality organization that created an exciting design for the building, which is the gateway to Broad Avenue and all of Third Street," Hoffmann said.

The building will have a more simple, elegant design that will open up the space and bring in more light. The design includes new engineered hardwood flooring throughout the building. A garage will become a private spot for one-on-one client meetings.

The outside will be white with burnt-orange awnings. There will be minimalist landscaping with California grids up the walls and coral stone walkways.

Many of the materials inside and out are designed to get "better with time," including pecky cypress paneling and a tabby fireplace made of oyster shell, Thompson said. 

Out back, Thompson's design will spruce up a courtyard with a new fountain made from an old French oil jar and new landscaping that will play up the beauty of a giant live oak tree. She envisions the courtyard as a space for community events, not just her own.

"I want it to be a space where we share —  where it's not just us," Thompson said. "It's just so special."  

Thompson has driven by the building so many times, wishing she owned it, but she couldn't afford to buy it, she said.

With the new location, she'll more than double her space and get out of her cramped location, which she outgrew a few years ago. 

Known for her unique furniture, accessories and gifts curated from her travels around the world, Thompson opened her business at 381 12th Ave. S. about five years ago. She's been in the furniture business for 35 years. 

With her new location, Thompson hopes to create a much more impressive entrance to the Third Street South commercial district.

"I saw it as this little jewel box — this little crown jewel into Old Naples, this little special corner that's kind of been ignored. I felt like it really hadn't realized its full potential," she said.

Thompson hopes to open in the new location Sept. 1. She plans a grand opening in November.

In April, Hoffmann Commercial Real Estate announced it was setting its eyes on Third Street South, with the intention of buying at least five properties on or near it.

The company made its grand entrance onto Fifth Avenue South when it bought seven buildings and a parking lot for $74.35 million in 2015.  

The Hoffmanns hope to connect Fifth Avenue and Third Street by putting some of the same retailers on both through smaller pop-up stores and offering a free shuttle service between them.

"We haven't fully finalized that," David Hoffmann said. "But we have talked to several retailers, and they want to do it. It's just we have to find space to do it. So we are buying as much as we possibly can in the Third Street district and the Fifth Avenue district."

There are no first-floor vacancies in any of the buildings that have been purchased, "so we keep buying," he said.