Leased Another One! Art Nadel's Office Has Gone To The Dogs!

Glad to have been a part of this deal. Welcome Southeastern Guidedogs!

Nadel's Sarasota office going to a good cause

Published: Friday, July 9, 2010 at 1:00 a.m.

A building once stigmatized by a rip-off artist who steered investors down blind alleys will soon be redeemed as a training ground for seeing-eye dogs guiding the handicapped to self-sufficiency.

The building on Main Street in Sarasota, just east of Orange Avenue, has been vacant since shortly after Arthur G. Nadel fled town in January 2009 when federal officials became aware of his nearly $400 million Ponzi scheme. Nadel has since pleaded guilty and awaits sentencing.

In a nearly surreal twist, Nadel's firm, which made its profits illegally, is being replaced as the building's tenant by the nonprofit Southeastern Guide Dogs, a Palmetto charity expanding to Sarasota.

Set to open in September, the 3,700-square-foot offices will be used as a hub for training guide dogs and their legally blind masters in an urban setting. Monthly "puppy hugging" hours and a gift shop featuring a newly designed line of merchandise are part of the charity's plan to tap into the upscale Sarasota market.

The irony of putting a "kid-friendly use" in Scoop Management's former offices was not lost on Eric Massey, one of the commercial brokers on the deal.

He described the guide dog company as "a user that potentially could lift some of what I call negative energy from those offices."

That is probably a good bet. We are talking, after all, about an organization that has a "puppy cam" on its website and that collects funds to provide returning veterans with guide dogs.

The building at 1618 Main Street is owned by Westlake 407 Properties, which commercial broker Anthony Migliore described as family owned, with family members living in Sarasota and Arizona. Westlake also owns the adjacent parking lot at the corner of Orange and Main, a rare amenity for a Main Street business.

The building's karma did not affect interest from potential tenants, said Migliore, who acknowledged taking some ribbing from associates wondering if there was money hidden in the walls.

There was not, he said.

"We had multiple offers on that property," Migliore said. The owners "like the cause of the guide dogs."