Real estate investor and YouTube personality Ben Mallah, who’s “playing Monopoly for real” according to his bio, made his latest move off the board, a $10.65 million retail sale in Largo.
Mallah offloaded another retail asset in Tampa Bay, selling the Shops at Midway in Largo for about $142 per square foot, the Tampa Bay Business Journal reported. He has been selling off some of his retail holdings as part of a shift into other asset classes, including multifamily.
The 75,000-square-foot shopping center at 1301–1551 Missouri Avenue North was purchased by a group of private investors, most of whom are based locally. The buyers plan to hold the property as an income-producing asset and do not intend to redevelop the site.
Anchored by TJ Maxx, Ross, Aaron’s and Dollar Tree, the 7.5-acre center also includes an outparcel leased to Imagine Orthodontics. The property last sold in two transactions in 2015 for a combined $9.3 million, according to Pinellas County records.
Mallah, who leads Largo-based Equity Management Partners and has over 1 million subscribers on YouTube, was represented by RIPCO Real Estate Services’ Ari Ravi and Nathan Timmons. Trifon Houvardas of Foresight Property Services represented the buyers.
The deal is the latest in a series of dispositions by Mallah.
Between June 2023 and December 2024, he sold off eight retail properties across the region. In January, he told the outlet he was shifting focus toward other asset classes, including affordable housing. That month, his firm paid $2.3 million for a distressed apartment complex in Sneads, Florida, highlighting a move back into value-add multifamily deals.
The Largo deal reflects continued investor appetite for stabilized retail assets in high-traffic corridors as redevelopment activity picks up elsewhere across Tampa Bay, which includes a mixed-use redevelopment of a 235,000-square-foot recently shuttered Macy’s store at WestShore Plaza.
Mallah rose to prominence in part through his online presence, where he shares behind-the-scenes insights into property deals, leasing strategies and renovation projects. Though best known for retail, he has also been active in hotel, industrial and multifamily sectors across Florida.
— Judah Duke