Tesla's new Pinellas County real estate sells for $26.25 million
By Breanne Williams
Tampa Bay Business Journal
Published: Apr 4, 2023

The new Tesla Service Center in Lealman has sold for $26.25 million.

Rob Truett, principal of Delray Beach-based Truett Realty Group, transformed the former Kane’s Furniture liquidation center at 4601 34th St. N into a more than 100,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art Tesla Service Center.

Truett sold the center to an entity linked to Marc Cohen, formerly of Maryland-based Priority 1 Automotive Group, according to a Pinellas County deed. Priority 1 Automotive Group was a family-run business that sold to Fort Lauderdale-based AutoNation in 2021. It was one of the largest acquisitions by AutoNation since 2018.

Truett purchased the 4.21-acre property in May 2022 for $13 million. The center has a 45,000-square-foot service center, a 3,000-square-foot showroom, an 8,000-square-foot parts storage area and an indoor storage space that can hold approximately 170 cars. The center opened in February.

Scherer Construction was the general contractor, and Thomas Engineering was the civil engineer. The Tampa Bay Business Journal honored the renovation as a Best Real Estate Deal in 2022.

Truett previously told the Business Journal he loves adaptive reuse projects and believes Pinellas County has a “tremendous amount of opportunity.” The Tesla Center is in unincorporated Pinellas County and lies within the Lealman Community Redevelopment Area, which was established in 2015.

After Truett announced his renovation plans, he said many neighboring property owners were reaching out to potentially have their assets transformed.