Al Austin's Westshore office buildings sold
By Ashley Gurbal Kritzer
Tampa Bay Business Journal
Published: Apr 6, 2015

Redstone Investments has closed on the Austin Center in Tampa's Westshore district.

The Austin Center is five office buildings on North West Shore Boulevard totaling 300,000 square feet. They were developed in phases, beginning in the late 1960s, by Tampa civic leader and Republican fundraiser Al Austin, who died in May 2014.

Redstone, which has offices in Tampa and Youngstown, Ohio, did not disclose a purchase price. A deed for the transaction has not yet been filed in Hillsborough County.

Tampa Bay Business Journal first reported that Redstone was under contract to acquire the property in October 2014. The company also did not disclose its plans for the property. Real estate sources have said the site is well positioned for a mixed-use redevelopment that could include retail and residential components.

"Austin Center is strongly positioned in the Westshore area and is well known to the Tampa Bay area business community," Redstone CEO Jonathan Levy said in a statement. "We are delighted to be the new owners, as we have always admired the vision Al Austin had for the entire Westshore Business District.”

Ashley Gurbal Kritzer is a reporter for the Tampa Bay Business Journal.