A friendship forged at UF Warrington anchors a $43 million waterfront deal

When Anthony Dubbaneh, Scott Sherman and Ankur Patel arrived on the University of Florida campus more than two decades ago, none of them could have predicted that the friendships they were forming in Gainesville would one day underwrite a $43 million waterfront acquisition on Florida’s Gulf Coast. This July, that is exactly what happened.

Harborview Capital Group and Torose Equities — two active and growing real estate investment firms led by the trio — have jointly acquired Fishermen’s Village, a 22.8-acre waterfront mixed-use property in Punta Gorda, Florida, for $43 million through a court-supervised receivership process. And in a fitting twist, the deal came together not in a boardroom, but at a University of Florida Warrington College of Business conference, through relationships that trace directly back to campus.

“We are honored to become the next stewards of a property that has anchored this waterfront for more than four decades,” Dubbaneh said. “Fishermen’s Village continues our long-term commitment to investing in Punta Gorda.”

Roots at the UF Warrington College of Business

The three principals have known one another for more than twenty years, with the roots of their friendships planted at the University of Florida’s business school. Anthony Dubbaneh earned his BSBA in finance in 2003. Scott Sherman earned his BS in accounting the same year. Ankur Patel earned his BSBA in finance in 2004 and returned to Gainesville to complete his Nathan S. Collier Master of Science in Real Estate (MSRE) in 2006.

Today, Sherman leads Miami-based Torose Equities, which specializes in value-add retail, office and mixed-use acquisitions and has invested across Florida’s Gulf Coast since 2017. Dubbaneh and Patel co-founded Punta Gorda-based Harborview Capital Group, which invests in hospitality, retail, industrial and mixed-use real estate. Two of the three principals — Sherman and Patel — continue to give back to their alma mater as members of the UF Kelley A. Bergstrom Real Estate Center Advisory Board.

A deal born at a UF conference

The connection that made this transaction possible ran through Gator Nation at every turn. Dubbaneh, Sherman and Patel — along with Torose Equities Director of Acquisitions Aaron Kay, who earned his Master of International Business (MIB) from UF in 2015 — were attending the UF Bergstom Center’s Trends and Strategies Conference. So was fellow UF Real Estate advisory board member Ashley Bloom, Managing Partner at SVN Commercial Partners, who happened to be the listing broker on the Fishermen’s Village assignment.

As Bloom caught up individually with members of both firms during the conference, a realization took shape over the course of the networking: Harborview and Torose had been pursuing the opportunity separately, and the two firms had clear synergies to partner on a joint venture. A joint venture between the two groups eventually executed a complicated transaction that had defeated multiple prior attempts by the seller.

“Harborview and I were pursuing this deal separately before concluding we would be better positioned together,” said Sherman. “Their local knowledge combined with our experience executing complex value-add repositionings is what got this across the finish line.”

Fishermen’s Village comprises approximately 97,000 square feet of retail space, a recently renovated 47-key waterfront hotel, and a 142-slip marina. The retail component is fully leased. The marina requires substantial reconstruction following hurricane damage sustained in 2024 and represents a significant component of the partnership’s redevelopment plan. Lake Michigan Credit Union provided senior debt financing, and the partnership plans to work with the City of Punta Gorda, existing merchants and marina tenants on the restoration and repositioning of the property.

“Ankur and I first met at the 2025 Trends Conference, and kept in touch, looking for the right way to work together,” Kay said. “When we crossed paths at this year’s conference, both of our firms in the middle of bidding on Fishermen’s Village without realizing the other was at the table, and a post-conference conversation about how we each saw the asset turned into a new partnership by the next morning. This deal is proof that the value of the University of Florida Real Estate Program keeps compounding long after graduation.”

Compounding Gator Nation connections

For the principals, Fishermen’s Village is more than a marquee acquisition — it is a testament to the enduring value of the University of Florida community. What began as friendships between classmates in Gainesville has grown into two thriving investment firms, ongoing service on the university’s Bergstrom Real Estate Center Advisory Board, and now a landmark partnership that will reshape a beloved stretch of the Punta Gorda waterfront.

“This is a great example of a situation where being part of the University of Florida Gator Nation opened the door to opportunities well after our time in school and outside of the university campus,” said Patel. “The relationships you build at UF don’t end at graduation — they compound over a lifetime.”