Business Briefs

+ La Firenza unit sells for $4.25 million
Unit 301 at the 10-unit La Firenza at 4125 Gulf of Mexico Drive sold April 1 for $4.25 million. The transaction was the second-highest condo sale in Southwest Florida to date in 2014.

Roger Pettingell, of Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate’s Longboat Key office, represented the seller. Steve Harris, of Michael Saunders & Co.’s St. Armands Circle office, represented the buyer.

“It looks like 2014 is shaping up to be a very strong year for luxury real estate. The properties on Longboat Key are selling,” said Pettingell in a news release. “This was an exceptional penthouse property in a small, intimate community.  The residence encompassed the entire floor with amazing views.”

The 4,800-square-foot unit has three bedrooms, three-and-a-half bathrooms, a three-car garage and views of the beach from nearly every room.

Pettingell, who was the top agent in Sarasota and Manatee counties in 2013 with $61.85 million in sales, reports sales of more than $25 million in 2014.

+ Premier Sotheby’s honors top 20 teams and associates
Judy Green, president/CEO of Premier Sotheby’s International Realty, hosted a March 18 breakfast at The Francis, in Sarasota, to recognize the company’s top 20 agents in the local market.

The top 20 associates and teams for 2013 are: Cheryl Loeffler, Joel Schemmel, Terry Hayes, Judie Berger, Shellie Young, Terry Herschberger, Greg Hudson, Fernando Viteri, Roberta Tengerdy, The Currey Team, Brian Wood, Peter Laughlin, The Hedge Team, Charles Totonis, Jo Rutstein, Martha Marlar, Mark Huber, Robert Linthicum, Barbara Mei and Cindy Marovich.

The event featured guest speaker James Meng, regional administrator for Sotheby’s auction house operations in Florida.

+ BP station rebrands as Mobil Longboat Key
The BP Longboat Key gas station and car wash at 400 Gulf of Mexico Drive turned into the Mobil Longboat Key gas station and car wash last week.

Mobil gas station co-owner and Longboat Key resident Nazeela Rahman-Shaw said the station changed the brand of gas it uses from BP to Mobil. The station’s pumps closed at 5 p.m. March 31 and reopened the morning of April 1 as Mobil pumps. The station also changed its green paint accents to Mobil’s signature blue and red colors.

For the week before the rebranding, Rahman-Shaw prepared for the gas station’s changes without closing the convenience store or shutting down all of the gas pumps at one time.

Rahman-Shaw said BP sold its refineries in Texas 18 months ago, and the BP presence in Florida and Southern states will begin to diminish.

Rahman-Shaw will soon celebrate the new Mobil gas station’s rebranding effort with a car wash discount promotion that will be available to motorists if they purchase a certain amount of gasoline.