Charlotte developer buys iconic South Tampa shopping center home to Bella's Italian Cafe
By Ashley Gurbal Kritzer
Tampa Bay Business Journal
Published: Aug 23, 2022

A Charlotte, North Carolina developer known for edgy, mixed-use projects has acquired some iconic South Tampa real estate.

Asana Partners, which has been quietly amassing a portfolio of Tampa property, paid $14.25 million for the pale blue shopping center home to Bella’s Italian Cafe, the historic office building at 1304 S. DeSoto Ave. and a surface parking lot at 2307 W. Mississippi Ave., according to Hillsborough County property records.

The deal closed Aug. 17, property records show. Tyler McRae of Meridian Retail Group and Ryan Reynolds of CBRE Group Inc. represented Asana in the transaction.

The seller was Tampa-based Soho Investments LLC, which had owned all three parcels since 1998.

Asana’s other Tampa holdings include 442 W. Kennedy Blvd., the building home to Mise en Place and Fly Bar, as well as Bayshore Center, the office building on West Bay to Bay Boulevard that’s home to Counter Culture.

It also owns three warehouses in North Hyde Park. The transactions total a combined $59.05 million since late 2021.

Matthew Muse, Asana Partners’ director of investments, declined to elaborate on plans for the property. Asana’s investments throughout the U.S. focus on experiential retail in walkable neighborhoods.

“We will follow up when we have details to share on our portfolio in Tampa,” Muse wrote in an email Monday.