Ian Black, CCIM, has been a prominent fixture in the Sarasota / Manatee County real estate market since the early 1980’s. Local real estate developers respect Ian’s creativity and integrity in the real estate business as well as his commitment to the betterment of the community. Those qualities have earned Ian some of the most prestigious brokerage assignments in the area.

He was the leasing agent for One Sarasota Tower, the glass tower that anchors North Tamiami Trail to the Sarasota Bay. Ian was also selected as commercial sales and leasing broker for the chic, innovative Plaza at Five Points located in the heart of downtown Sarasota. And most recently, Ian Black Real Estate was appointed exclusive leasing broker for The Starling Group’s office portfolio along the Interstate in Sarasota County and Lakewood Ranch.

Ian’s impressive real estate brokerage career began in 1964, when he worked with, and later co-owned, Brian Morton and Company in Northern Ireland, Ian’s homeland. Ian helped Brian Morton grow from one office in Belfast to 22 offices throughout Northern Ireland.

In 1982, Ian and his family moved to Sarasota, where they owned, operated, and later sold a ten-unit motel on Siesta Key. His previous positions include vice president of marketing at Starling Realty, where he worked for seven years, and director of Florida brokerage services for ICORR Properties Realty Inc., where he was the company’s sole broker for the Sarasota / Manatee area. In 2003, Ian opened his own commercial real estate brokerage and management office.

Ian is one of the few commercial brokers in the area who holds the prestigious CCIM (Certified Commercial Investment Member) designation of the Commercial Investment Real Estate Council of the Realtors Institute of NAR (National Association of Realtors). This is the highest designation given to commercial real estate specialists.

Community Involvement and Accolades:

Current Vice President of the Jewish Federation of Sarasota Manatee
Past President of the Commercial Investment Division of the Sarasota Board of Realtors and was named that entity’s very first Commercial Realtor of the Year
Past Chairman of the Sarasota Downtown Partnership
Past President of The Sarasota Film Festival
Past President of The Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee
Top 100 Most Powerful People in Sarasota – Sarasota Magazine, 2009
Semi-finalist for Gulf Coast Business Review’s 2003 Commercial Real Estate Broker of the Year
Elegant, smart development must incorporate the arts, and Ian combines his consummate knowledge of the real estate market with his love of the arts in his community contributions. Ian has been instrumental in bringing art into the Sarasota business community through his service as past President of the Sarasota Film Festival, his service on the Arts Task Force and the ART in BUSINESS board. Ian’s dedication to the unity of art and real estate has personal roots. Ian is himself an accomplished artist in both abstract painting and ceramic sculpting. Ian’s post-expressionist paintings, co-authored with Ringling School of Art graduate James Mendes, have been exhibited at the Sonnet Gallery and at ARTarget “Hot Summer Cool Art” show in downtown Sarasota. One of the first forms of expression Ian learned was the ancient martial science of Tai Chi. He appeared in Tai Chi InnerWave, a nationally-syndicated television show on the PBS network and throughout Europe.