A downtown Orlando building that is home to a pair of popular restaurants has traded hands — and its new owner has plans to invest up to a half-million dollars into renovations.
The two-story building at 24 E. Washington St., the ground floor tenants for which include Gringos Locos and Loading Zone Philly Steaks, sold for $2.4 million on March 31 to 24 E Washington LLC, an entity related to Orlando-based commercial real estate firm Garito & Co.
Garito & Co. Director of Operations Cheyenne Matos confirmed to Orlando Business Journal that the firm had acquired the building, would be renovating its exterior and interior and that they will be relocating their offices there from a smaller space at nearby 14 E. Washington St.
Matos also said that leases had been recently extended for the two ground-floor tenants — with Gringos Locos leased through 2030 and Loading Zone leased through 2027.
Garito & Co. owner Tim Garito said the capital investment into renovating the 8,644-square-foot-building, which Orange County records have as being built in 1935, could approach a half-million dollars.
“We want to preserve the historic element and bring it back to life a bit,” Garito said.
Garito & Co. represented itself in the transaction, while seller Avex Holdings LLC was represented by Jeff Patterson, a senior vice president and market director in Orlando for Hilliard, Ohio-based Equity.
Avex Holdings LLC is an entity related to Orlando-based Avalon Park Group. It acquired the building in 2015 for $1.9 million, according to Orange County records.
Executives for the seller, Gringos Locos and Loading Zone Philly Steaks were not immediately available for comment.
The Orlando office for Stanley Martin Homes has since relocated to 4700 Millenia Blvd., adjacent The Mall at Millenia.
In addition to the investment aspect, Garito and Matos indicated the larger office space for Garito & Co. at 24 E. Washington St. — 5,000 square feet in comparison to 1,800 square feet — will allow the firm to better handle its growth it has planned.
Garito said his firm, which has 12 brokers now, would like to grow to about 20 brokers by the end of 2023.
Meanwhile, he also owns Garito Hospitality, which operates two downtown venues, Sly Fox Pub and The Game Room, and has a third — the under-construction relocation of Parliament House — on the way.
Garito said he wants to continue to invest in the downtown district, with this real estate acquisition representing his latest maneuver. He explained his investment as having multiple prongs, including as a way to attract younger commercial real estate professionals to his firm.
“I believe Orlando is maturing into a metropolitan city,” he said. “To me, it might be cheaper to office out of Maitland or Lake Mary or another suburban market, but I want to attract the next generation of professionals and I still believe in an amenity-driven work environment, where you can go downstairs and get lunch and grab a cocktail after work.”
