Historic Clower building in downtown Gulfport has a new owner. Here is what’s planned.
The historic Clower building in downtown Gulfport has a new owner with plans to create a mixed use development adjacent to Fishbone Alley.
Sam Ford, senior investment advisor with Coldwell Banker Commercial Alfonso Realty in Gulfport, represented both the buyer and seller and said the sale on the three-story building is complete.
The building, at 1317 26th Ave., was sold by Golden State Bank. It was listed for $3.2 million and the building sold in less than four months.
The buyer is a local investor, Ford said, who has plans to add downtown housing to the existing tenants in the 27,000 square foot building.
“This is good for Gulfport,” Ford said.
Restaurants have returned to that area of downtown Gulfport since Hurricane Katrina 15 years ago, but downtown apartments are still scarce.
Built in 1903, the Clower building housed the J.C. Clower Furniture store for 108 years until the owners closed the business in 2002.
“The historic Clower Building is fully renovated and well located in Gulfport’s downtown, which made this property attractive to the buyer,” Ford said.
“They have several office tenants already there,” he said, with about half the building rented to long-term tenants.
The building has a three-story atrium with an air conditioned elevator and is within walking distance to the beach and the new Mississippi Aquarium.
During the coronavirus shutdown, people were kind of in shock and unsure of the real estate market, Ford said.
“A couple to three months later it got back and even better than it was before,” he said, in part because of the low cost compared to New Orleans and other surrounding areas.
He saw interest in downtown investment both in downtown Gulfport before and after the aquarium opened on Aug. 29, he said.
“I’d say it’s buzzing,” he said. “The aquarium opening up is just one more plus for the whole area, from Bay St. Louis to Ocean Springs.”
This story was originally published September 28, 2020 at 12:42 PM.
