One of Oklahoma’s largest CRE developers buys Dania Beach building

One of Oklahoma’s biggest commercial real estate developers bought the U.S. Customs and Border Protection building in Dania Beach for $22 million.

A company tied to Richard Tanenbaum, the CEO of Gardner Tanenbaum Group, bought the 39,883-square-foot building at 1700 to 1800 Northeast Seventh Street for $551 per square foot, records show. A company tied to Flint, Michigan-based West Second Street Associates sold the property.

Centennial Bank provided an $18.1 million loan to Tanenbaum to purchase the 4.3-acre property. Centennial, which is based in Conway, Arkansas, has become one of the fastest growing banks in South Florida.

Gardner Tanenbaum Group manages over 1 million square feet of multifamily properties, 6 million square feet of industrial and office space and has an inventory of more than 250 acres in Oklahoma.

Buying and leasing real estate to government agencies can be a lucrative business, since government agencies are often long-term tenants.

West Second Street Associates bought the Dania Beach property in 2006 for $2.3 million and completed the building in 2009.

The Dania Beach Border Patrol Station covers 635 miles of coastline across Miami-Dade, Broward, Lee and Collier counties, including most of the air and sea traffic from South America and the Caribbean entering the United States, according to its website.

Dania Beach has become a popular spot for new development. The city government recently started soliciting proposals from developers to build a new city hall and a commercial complex at 100 West Dania Beach Boulevard, a 6.42-acre site where the existing city hall is located.