Sarasota County paid $13.1 million for a 30,000-square-foot office building on Lakewood Ranch Boulevard North and plans to move about 100 employees there.

The deal for the former Centauri Specialty Insurance Company building at 4081 Lakewood Ranch Blvd. N. closed Nov. 9, commercial real estate broker Chris DiBitetto told the Business Observer. DiBitetto's brokerage, Eres Companies, represented the seller.

The purchase means Lakewood Ranch residents will soon have a closer location for county utility services. Customer service, permitting and planning, engineering, asset management and finance staff from Sarasota County Public Utilities will relocate to the building from the Sarasota Operations Center on Sarasota Center Boulevard, north of Fruitville Road.

The move will also free up space at the Sarasota Operations Center, allowing the county to consolidate its stormwater and transportation teams there, Public Utilities Director Brooke Bailey told commissioners.

No general fund tax dollars went toward the purchase. Bailey told commissioners at their Aug. 26 meeting that funding came from the Utility System Revenue Bond 2023 Capital Improvement Program (CIP) Fund and the Utility System Renewal and Replacement Fund.

The county also set aside nearly $2.2 million for additional costs, including a $400,000 generator and fiber connections, Bailey said. The total budget appropriation for the building project was $15,296,000, according to county records.

All five commissioners voted to approve the acquisition at the Aug. 26 meeting. Commissioner Teresa Mast moved to approve the package. Commissioner Mark Smith seconded it. Chair Ron Cutsinger and Commissioners Tom Knight and Joe Neunder also voted yes.

The price landed between two appraisals. An independent appraisal valued the property at $13.2 million. A county staff appraisal estimated $13 million.

Built in 2017 on a 5.01-acre site, the building is rated for 150-mph winds, Bailey said. That matters for a facility that functions as a 24/7 operations center. Bailey added that the building "does come fully furnished" except for the first floor and will need minimal renovation.

Centauri Specialty Insurance Co. bought the site in 2016 for $1.9 million, according to Sarasota County property records. The building went on the market in January 2025 and was marketed as a potential corporate headquarters, the Business Observer previously reported. DiBitetto previously told the Business Observer that most of the insurance firm's remaining employees now work remotely.

No timeline for the staff relocation has been announced.