City Furniture, planning big expansion into Tampa Bay, pays $7 million for Largo property
By Ashley Gurbal Kritzer
Tampa Bay Business Journal
Published: Jan 21, 2021

South Florida-based City Furniture has closed on more property in the Tampa Bay region, where it's planning to build a significant footprint in the coming years.

City Furniture, based in suburban Fort Lauderdale, paid $7 million for four parcels at 16991 U.S. Highway 19 North in Largo in a deal that closed in December, according to Pinellas County property records. The seller was Dwayne Hawkins, the late founder of Crown Automotive.

City Furniture CEO Keith Koenig previously told the Tampa Bay Business Journal that he was planning 120,000-square-foot showrooms in Largo, Wesley Chapel and Sarasota, but did not reveal any exact locations. The retailer is focused on omnichannel stores — large showrooms with nearby warehouses for same- or next-day delivery — to take on Amazon, Wayfair and other big names in e-commerce.

Construction costs, Koenig said at the time, are around a few hundred dollars per square foot for City Furniture's showrooms. The proposed stores come at a time when retail properties have been challenged by the pandemic and new construction is largely at a standstill.

It's the second major land acquisition City Furniture has closed in the Tampa Bay area. It's also purchased more than 100 acres in Plant City, where it is planning a $100 million mixed-use project that will include warehouse, showroom and office space.

Koenig was not immediately available for comment on Thursday.