A Central Florida entrepreneur has spent $24.5 million to add The Exchange building in downtown Winter Garden to his growing portfolio of city properties.
James Larweth, founder of pharmaceutical rebate management company Anton Rx, purchased the three-story, mixed-use office and retail property at 270 West Plant St. from longtime locals the Keating family, according to Foundry Commercial. Anton Rx has offices in downtown Winter Garden. The west Orange County city is about 15 miles west of Orlando.
County property records show the owner, Crazy Plant Holdings LLC, an entity tied to Timothy M. Keating III, sold the property to Legacy Exchange LLC, which is tied to Larweth, in an all-cash deal. The Keatings bought the .75-acre property from the city in 2019 and delivered the 42,800-square-foot Class A property in 2021.
Efforts to reach Larweth were not successful.
Nine other commercial buildings downtown, eight on West Plant’s red brick streets, have been sold for millions to a new owner. County property records and state business records show several are connected to Larweth.
Entities connected to him have spent nearly $21 million on four properties downtown, including $10.3 million on the Edgewater Hotel built in 1926. Larweth also bought Chef’s Table, the acclaimed restaurant occupying the hotel’s first floor.
Some shop owners in buildings he bought said they’ve been notified by the new owner/landlord that their leases will not be renewed. Three Birds Café closed Feb. 26, and the popular lunch spot at 2 W. Plant Street said on Facebook “we were not granted an extension or the opportunity to stay.”
Larweth has met a couple of times with city officials, though city manager Jon Williams has said he hasn’t disclosed any specific plans for his portfolio of downtown buildings.
Mayor John Ress told GrowthSpotter on Wednesday that he’s talked with Larweth a couple of times over the last month or so. He said a lot of the properties Larweth purchased are older, and he plans to refurbish them.
“There’s a lot of people concerned because they love our downtown and they want it to stay like it is,” the mayor said. “What he’s done to start with, he’s fixed up very nice and done a good job, and I have no reason to believe that won’t continue.”
An inside look at The Exchange, a three-story mixed-use building with about 42,000 square feet of space in downtown Winter Garden. The building has a diverse mix of professional service firms, lifestyle tenants and destination retail operators. (Image courtesy of Foundry Commercial)
Ress said Larweth seems very “pro Winter Garden” despite not living in the city. An online search turns up a Windermere address for Larweth.
“When you talk to him, he certainly gives every indication that he loves Winter Garden and wants to keep that charm,” the mayor said, adding that Larweth has been active in the city for decades.
According to Foundry Commercial, Larweth plans to maintain his properties’ strong tenant mix and is committed to stable rents in the near term.
Ken Pozek founded Pozek Group, a team of residential real estate specialists, and The Orlando Real website, which specializes in Orlando-area theme parks, lifestyle and residential real estate. His firm rents about 2,000 square feet in The Exchange, has been there almost four years, and has another year left on its lease.
He told GrowthSpotter on Wednesday he’s received correspondence relating to the sale but has not talked with Larweth — although he has reached out to him. He said he’s happy renting there but is outgrowing the space and looking to expand in the building or move.
He said Plant Street and the feeder roads leading to it “are definitely hot” in the city. Many new buildings are rising in the downtown district along with the property values, he said.
“That downtown area, when I first signed my lease in The Exchange, none of that was around,” Pozek said. “From what I can see, I can go on Park Ave. in Winter Park cheaper than I can go on Plant Street in Winter Garden for office space right now.”
The Exchange is fully leased and has several eateries on the ground floor: Foxtail Coffee, The Hangry Bison, Kelly’s Homemade Ice Cream, Mangoni Italian Market Pizza, Sweetland Bakery & Tea House; as well as retail shops (Apricot Lane Boutique, LiveTrends Boutique) and DIY candle-making experience and shop Artifact Candle Foundry.
Another look inside The Exchange, a three-story building in downtown Winter Garden finished in 2021. Positioned along the highly walkable Plant Street corridor, it benefits from consistent foot traffic driven by the popular Winter Garden Farmers Market and its proximity to the West Orange Trail. City Hall is located across the street from it. (Image courtesy of Foundry Commercial)
Positioned along the highly walkable Plant Street corridor, The Exchange benefits from consistent foot traffic driven by the popular Winter Garden Farmers Market and its proximity to the West Orange Trail. City Hall is located across the street from it.
Foundry put the property on the market in January. The firm’s Investment Advisory Group facilitated the sale, led by Associate Chris DeMartino, with support from IAG Partner and Managing Director Rick Helton, alongside North Florida team members Dale Peterson, Joe Chick and Christine Mansour.
Brian Bell can be reached at bbell@orlandosentinel.com. Have a tip about Central Florida development? Email Newsroom@GrowthSpotter.com. Follow GrowthSpotter on Facebook and LinkedIn. Stephen Hudak contributed to this report.