Commercial RE Briefs

By Business Observer Staff
| 6:00 p.m. February 23, 2007
| 2 Free Articles Remaining!

Tampa Bay-Lakeland

by Sean Roth | Real Estate Editor

TAMPA

Baycorp plans office, retail development on U.S. 60

BUYER: Miller Park Plaza LLC (principal: John McCall), St. Petersburg

SELLER: Raymond A. Byanski

PROPERTY: 4.84 acres of property southeast of Valrico Road and State Road 60 north of Lumsden some of which is known as 2427 U.S. Highway 60

PRICE: $3.5 million

SELLER: James L. Williams

PROPERTY: 4.55 acres of property southeast of Valrico Road and Highway 60 north of Lumsden some of which is known as 2401 U.S. Highway 60

PRICE: $2 million

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: St. Petersburg-based developer Baycorp Development has set its focus on developing an 18.5-acre parcel of land on the southwest corner of State Road 60 and Miller Road in Hillsborough County.

The developer purchased about nine acres for a total of $5.5 million recently, which followed an acquisition in August.

Baycorp plans to build Miller Park Plaza, a 30,000-square-foot retail strip center on the frontage parcel along with an 8,800-square-foot mini strip center of retail and three outparcels.

"In the back eight or nine acres we are going to build an office park," says Sean McCall, president. "We're looking at doing fee simple condominiums over 16 buildings." Individual units will range in size from 2,500 to 5,000 square feet.

Grubb and Ellis' Tampa office will market the retail project. The preliminary site plan was approved in early January, according to McCall, who expects to start turning dirt on the site by April or May. Completion is scheduled for the first quarter of 2008.

Baycorp mortgaged the land to Bank of America for $4.3 million.

Publix Super Market under development for Ruskin

BUYER: 1941 Development LLC (registered agent: John Attaway Jr.), Lakeland

SELLER: Coram Deo Commercial Property

PROPERTY: property west of U.S. 41, Ruskin

PRICE: $2.472 million

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: 1941 Development LLC purchased a 24-acre parcel of pasture land on U.S. 41 north of the intersection with 19th Avenue Northeastern, Ruskin, for about $2.5 million. Shannon Patten, media and community relations for Publix, confirmed that Lakeland-based grocery giant Publix Super Markets Inc. was a partner in the development and that it will be developing an 45,000-square-foot Publix grocery story on the site.

"We're currently in the permitting process right now so this is still very early," Patten says. This store will be the first Publix grocery location in Ruskin. Its nearest stores are in Appolo Beach and Sun City Center.

Ram, Myrtlewood buy Madeira Center

BUYER: Madeira Beach CRP LLC (partners: Myrtlewood Partners LLC and Ram CRA Partners LLC), Palm Beach Gardens

SELLER: Madeira Shopping Center Inc.

PROPERTY: 674 Welch Crossway, Madeira Beach

PRICE: $7.47 million

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: Boca Raton-based Myrtlewood Partners LLC and Palm Beach Gardens-based Ram Commercial Group partnered to purchase the waterfront, 80,167-square-foot Madeira Shopping Center at Welch Causeway and Duhme Road for about $7.5 million. The center, anchored by a 39,667-square-foot Publix Super Market, houses a 16,500-square-foot Walgreens drug store, a 15,000-square-foot Beall's for Her, a 5,250-square-foot Song of the Dolphin and a 3,750-square-foot Lynn's Hallmark.

The acquisition was done as part of Ram's Community Reinvestment Partners division, which was specifically created to rehab and reposition retail centers in Community Redevelopment Areas, primarily in the South Florida, Tampa, Orlando and Jacksonville markets.

Streetside developers buy Dean Dairy, Eiland property

BUYER: Streetside at Zephyrhills LLC (principal: Jon Christiansen, Larry Ledbetter, Douglas Davidson and Blair Schlossberg), Dade City

SELLER: Eiland Woods Inc.

PROPERTY: about five acres at Dean Dairy Road and Eiland Boulevard, Zephyrhills

PRICE: $1.565 million

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: Atlanta-based Streetside Developers LLC purchased about five acres at the northeast corner of Dean Dairy Road and Eiland Boulevard in Pasco County for about $1.6 million. The developer has announced plans to develop a project on the site called Streetside at Dean Dairy & Eiland Boulevard. The project will feature a 9,600-square-foot retail strip center with 94 parking spaces and two 1.34-acre outparcels. The development is scheduled for completion in the fall.

StreetSide Developers develops, leases and manages commercial real estate projects, primarily retail shopping centers in high-growth areas.

Streetside at Zephyrhills LLC mortgaged the property to SunTrust Bank for $3.235 million.

Etc...

• ELEMENT Engineering Group LLC was awarded the District Wide Miscellaneous Design Support Services contract by the Florida Department of Transportation, District Seven. ELEMENT is a new civil engineering firm in Ybor City. ELEMENT will assist the DOT by providing a wide range of transportation services, including design of roadways, structures, intersections, signals, signing and pavement marking, landscaping, construction services, and surveying and mapping.

• Calkain Cos., a national real estate investment brokerage firm, listed the real estate currently occupied by Taco Bell in Tampa and Lakeland. David Sobelman, Vice President of Calkain Realty Advisors, the private market division of Calkain Companies, is representing the seller, a private investor, in the transaction. The sites are currently occupied and operated by Yum! Brands, the parent company of Taco Bell. The individual locations are valued at just more than $4.5 million.

LEE/COLLIER

Miami restaurant owners buy, re-list former Denny's

BUYER: Atikin LLC (principals: Carol and J.P. Kaft), Naples

SELLER: NAP Restaurant Inc.

PROPERTY: 3350 Tamiami Trail N., Naples

PRICE: $1.8 million

LAW FIRM ON DEED: Donald K. Ross Jr., Naples

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: Carol and J.P. Kaft, of the Pizza Roma restaurant in Miami, purchased a 3,743-square-foot former Denny's restaurant on two-thirds of an acre on Tamiami Trail in Naples for $1.8 million. It's possible the restaurateurs will eventually use the site for a new restaurant, but at this point the Kafts have put the restaurant site back up for sale.

Jan Vanhogerwou, a Realtor with Royal Palm Realty of Naples Inc., is listing the property for an asking price of $2.495 million.

"It's on one of the busiest stretches of [U.S.] 41 in the county," Vanhogerwou says. "It gets about 60,000 cars a day. In all likelihood, the building will be torn down; it was built in 1979. The property also features an impact fee credit of $243,000."

The Kafts mortgaged the property to Floridian Community Bank Inc. for $1.257 million.

Dunkin Donut franchiser buys property

BUYER: McNulty Realty Holdings LLC (David and Ronald McNulty), Cape Coral

SELLER: Fort Myers 41 LLC

PROPERTY: 4724 S. Cleveland Ave., Fort Myers

PRICE: $1.468 million

PREVIOUS PRICE: $900,000, July 2003

TITLE FIRM ON DEED: Atlas Title of Southeast Florida Inc., Fort Myers

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: David McNulty, owner of the Fort Myers Dunkin Donuts franchise, and Ronald McNulty of Andover, Mass., purchased a 3,808-square-foot former Maine's Best Seafood restaurant building on Cleveland Drive for $1.468 million. Calls to David McNulty were not returned before deadline.

The recent marketing push for Dunkin Donuts franchisers has been creating combined Dunkin Donuts/Baskin Robbins stores such as the restaurant McNulty added on U.S. 41 near Alico Road last year. According to reports as of July, there were 12 Dunkin Donuts and four Baskin Robbins restaurants in Lee County.

McNulty Realty Holdings LLC mortgaged the Cleveland Drive property to Sovereign Bank for $1.16 million.

Forum at Fort Myers gives city land for park

BUYER: City of Fort Myers

SELLER: AGBLLC of Florida and MDG Forum 6 LLC

PROPERTY: A portion of Forum Boulevard, Fort Myers known as lot 15, The Forum at Fort Myers

PRICE: $1.485 million

PREVIOUS PRICE: $1.037 million, December 2006

LAW FIRM ON DEED: Bolanos Truxton PA, Fort Myers

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: The planned developer of The Forum at Fort Myers development in Fort Myers, AGBLLC of Florida and MDG Forum 6 LLC, donated a 4.25-acre parcel at Champion Ring Road off Forum Boulevard to the city for a park. The developer is expected to eventually build the park, which will include a gazebo and all-purpose field.

The Forum is planned as a 706-acre mixed-use project between State Road 82 and Colonial Boulevard.

Etc...

• Partners Financial Corp., the holding company for Partners Bank, completed and has opened its new corporate headquarters near the intersection of Airport-Pulling Road and Golden Gate Parkway in Naples.

• P Annesimeon, LLC purchased a 5,088-square-foot warehouse at 2837 Fowler Street, Fort Myers from Arch Aluminum & Glass Co. for $400,000. Cooper Huff of Gates D'Alessandro & Woodyard, LLC negotiated the transaction.

• Brian and Kay Wright purchased a 2,080-square-foot retail space at 12331 Towne Lake Drive, units 11 and 12 in Fort Myers from Sox Development Inc for $457,000. Todd Holman and AJ Joseph of Gates D'Alessandro & Woodyard LLC negotiated the transaction.

• Rosen Building Supplies Inc. leased a 21,400-square-foot warehouse at 2316 Bruner Lane, Fort Myers from FP Investments LLC. Kevin Rosenthal of Gates D'Alessandro & Woodyard, LLC negotiated the transaction.

• Fort Myers-based J.L. Wallace Inc. has started construction on Twins Plaza, a retail plaza located at 2612 Santa Barbara Blvd. in Cape Coral. The project is planned as a 27,717-square-foot, single-story, masonry-block building construction is scheduled for completion by October 2007.

• The Antaramian Development Group has completed the roof for the Hotel at Naples Bay Resort. The hotel is on schedule for completion in the fall. All 85 suites have been sold. Benchmark Hospitality will be managing all aspects of the resort including the hotel and club components.

SARASOTA/MANATEE

Lock Up Self Storage buys Sarasota's Waterworks building

BUYER: Lock Up Sarasota - Downtown LLC (principal: Lock Up - Evergreen Acquisition LLC), Northfield, Ill.

SELLER: Historic Waterworks LLC

PROPERTY: 1005 N. Orange Ave., Sarasota

PRICE: $6.4 million

PREVIOUS PRICE: $279,000, October 2003

LAW FIRM ON DEED: Abel, Band, Russell, Collier, Pitchford & Gordon Chartered, Sarasota

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: Northfield, Ill.-based Lock Up Self Storage purchased the 6,000-square-foot former Sarasota City Waterworks building - which is on the National Register of Historic Buildings - and a 50,000-square-foot, four-story climate-controlled storage facility behind it for $6.4 million.

The new center is Lock Up Self Storage's first self-storage facility in Sarasota, according to Rick Hielscher, one of the three partners of Lock Up Self Storage.

The company, an affiliate of BRB Development LLC, already owns two existing centers in Naples and has another two under construction between Fort Myers and Naples. The new Sarasota center also is the company's first acquired property. Lock Up Self Storage previously constructed all of its centers .

"We're attempting to build another two or three more in the Sarasota area," Hielscher says. "It's still early. We're just in the negotiations stages with property owners. But the area is fairly dense, which just drive self-storage demand. Plus, compared to Chicago, no one has a basement in Sarasota and there are almost no attics. So there is far greater demand here than in most other climates."

Lock Up Self Storage has targeted four regions for expansion: Florida, Minnesota, Hawaii and Chicago. Hielscher expects the company to eventually grow to six or seven sites in the Naples-Fort Myers market, two to three in Sarasota-Bradenton and another two in the St. Petersburg-Tampa market.

Lock Up Self Storage mortgaged the Sarasota property to JPMorgan Chase Bank NA for $5.3 million.

SunVest Communities, Cay Clubs buy Colonial Grande

BUYER: Bayshore Sunvest Development LLC (principals: Harris Friedman and Sunvest Resort Communities LC), Hallandale

SELLER: CMS Bayshore Associates Limited Partnership

PROPERTY: 4148 53rd Ave. W., Bradenton

PRICE: $60 million

PREVIOUS PRICE: $23.7 million, October 2001

LAW FIRM ON DEED: CMS Affiliated Partnership, Wynnewood, Pa.

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: Bayshore Sunvest Development LLC, a joint venture of Hallandale-based SunVest Communities USA LLC and Cay Clubs of Clearwater, purchased the 376-unit Colonial Grande At Bayshore apartment complex for $60 million.

At this point, the apartment complex is still being run as a rental community and is currently 93% occupied. However, the Review has learned that much like a similar former apartment property the two own in Orlando, the partnership is considering converting the complex to resort condominiums and linking it with IMG Academies.

The new owners mortgaged the property to Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. for $57.59 million.

Calls to Cay Clubs, SunVest and IMG were not returned prior to our publication deadline.

Orion Bank assumes former G&T land in eastern Sarasota

BUYER: Fruitville Acquisition LLC (principal: Orion Bank), Naples

SELLER: G&T Land Development LLC

PROPERTY: 289 acres off Dog Kennel Road, Sarasota

PRICE: $14.34 million

PREVIOUS PRICE: $18.2 million, December 2004

LAW FIRM ON DEED: Irwin M. Frost PA, Miami

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: Naples-based Orion Bank acquired 289 acres off Dog Kennel Road in eastern Sarasota from Michael Tringali's G&T Land Development for a transaction value of $14.34 million.

Tringali was one of the former partners of Neil Hussanni, a Sarasota real estate investor accused of flipping properties to his business partners at hyper inflated prices. Hussanni's Capital Force Inc. purchased the 289-acre property for $8.9 million on Dec. 30, 2004 and turned around the next day and sold the property to G&T Land Development for $18.2 million. Orion Bank mortgaged the property G&T Land Development for $14.5 million as of a January 2006 mortgage modification.

Orion Bank officials declined comment on the sale through Clay Cone, president of Cone Communications Co.

However, it doesn't look like the sale to Orion Bank will end Tringali's financial liability for the property. The same day that Orion Bank recorded its deed for the property, the bank filed a lis pendens indicating its intent to foreclose on the property.

Burton-Katzman buy Sarasota Commercial Management

Mindy Parker, president and owner of Sarasota Commercial Management Inc., sold the company's business assets to Abbey Management LLC and Abbey Realty LLC, subsidiaries of the Bingham Farms, Mich.-based Burton-Katzman.

Locally, Sarasota Commercial Management, whose largest client is still Parker's father, Dr. Mark Kauffman, handles development, facilities management and brokerage.

Burton-Katzman, which has a large portfolio of properties in Michigan, has been quietly moving into the market and now has developments planned at University Parkway and Honore Avenue and on the L-3 Communications property at Fruitville and Cattlemen roads.

Burton-Katzman is partnering with Kauffman to develop University Professional Park on the University Parkway parcel and submitted a bid with Benderson Development Co. Inc to build a hotel/mixed-use development called Palm Plaza on a city-owned parcel of land at Palm Avenue and Main Street in downtown Sarasota.

For the time being, Burton-Katzman will maintain the Sarasota Commercial Management name and has taken over its leased office space at 711 S. Osprey Ave.

Etc...

• Sarasota-based Diversified Construction Safety Inc, a construction safety consulting firm, has been retained by Regal Electric of Fort Myers and Solutions Inc. of Tampa to provide safety services for its commercial construction projects.

• Thomas Elliott of Paddywagon LLC purchased the trademarked Paddy Wagon Irish Pub on 6586 Gateway Avenue in Sarasota from Mojo Enterprises. Joe Bruno, broker/owner of Gulf Gate Realty, handled the transaction.

• Al Lebel of A & W Inc. purchased Cedars Bar & Grill at 2385 12th street in Sarasota from VMS Enterprises Inc. Joe Bruno, broker/owner of Gulf Gate Realty, handled the transaction.

• The Founders Club has opened the first two of its 13 maintenance-free Golf Cottages, the courtyard plan Magnolia and two-story Jasmine, in the private, 700-acre community just three miles east of Interstate 75 off Fruitville Road.

• Ruben-Holland Development, a development company made up of former Benderson Development Florida partner Wayne Ruben and Pennsylvania/Sarasota contractor/developer Roger Holland, has broken ground on the new bayfront development Legends Bay at IMG Academies.

Gibraltar Homes and Arthur Rutenberg Homes-M Pete McNabb Inc. are the exclusive builders for the gated community. The developer also is planning an adjacent development of 60 coach homes called Legends Cove. The sales gallery for the new development is located in the IMG Academies Golf & Country Club formerly the El Conquistador Country Club. As a licensee of the sports/icon-builder IMG Academies, residents in the community gain membership in the golf and country club and access to IMG's faculties and high-profile coaches.

• One Palm developer Brent Virkus signed a deal to lease the air rights above The Church of the Redeemer, across the street from One Palm. The move is designed to protect the planned One Palm development's bayviews for at least the 99 years of the lease. Construction on the new residential/retail project, designed by Hoyt Architects, is currently scheduled to start in October. Michael Saunders is directing sales for One Palm.

• Lakewood Ranch Realty has kicked off construction on the Lake Osprey Building, a 35,000-square-foot, three-story Class-A office building in Lakewood Ranch Town Center near University Parkway east of the information center. The center, designed by the Lawson Group Architects, has a bank tenant signed up for the 11,000-square-foot first floor. Completion is scheduled for the fourth quarter.

MULTI-COUNTY

Metro Storage LLC buys three-property ASAP Storage

BUYER: Sarasota Storage LP (Metro JV Fund Manager-Sarasota LLC and CLPF-Sarasota Storage Group, LLC) Lake Bluff, Ill.

SELLER: Sarasota Storgard II LLC

PROPERTY: 619 Cattlemen Road, Sarasota,

PRICE: $8.3 million

PREVIOUS PRICE: $930,000, November 1995

BUYER: Summerlin Storage LP,

SELLER: Summerlin Storgard V LC s

PROPERTY: 17701-733 Summerlin Road, Fort Myers

PRICE: $11.66 million

PREVIOUS PRICE: $636,000, April 1997 (includes additional property)

BUYER: Lehigh Acres Storage LP

SELLER: ASAP Storage of Lehigh Acres, FL LC

PROPERTY: 3021 Lee Blvd., Lehigh Acres

PRICE: $6.575 million

PREVIOUS PRICE: $635,000, April 2003 (includes additional property)

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: Lake Bluff, Ill.-based Metro Storage LLC purchased three properties owned by ASAP Storage in Sarasota and Fort Myers for a total of $26.5 million. The ASAP self-storage facilities included a 72,000-square-foot center on Cattlemen Road in Sarasota, a more than 100,000-square-foot complex on Summerlin Road in Fort Myers and a 65,650-square-foot center in Lehigh Acres.

"It's our first acquisition in those markets, but we already have a large base of operations in Tampa," says Brian Blankenship, executive vice president of Metro Storage LLC. "We just finished a five-store acquisition in Tampa. We currently have 11 stores in Tampa and 14 throughout Florida."

Blankenship says the company learned about the ASAP properties through a listing by Marcus and Millichap's Tampa office.

The goal, of the acquisition he says, aside from the obvious addition to the company's bottom line, was expanding the company's presence in the Gulf Coast market.

"We don't have any set number, but ultimately we are looking to acquire additional locations in Florida," Blankenship says. "About 50% of our growth has been in Florida; the rest has been in Atlanta and Chicago."

Started in 1973, Metro Storage LLC owns about 50 self-storage facilities.

Metro Storage LLC mortgaged the Sarasota property to UBS Real Estate Securities Inc. for $5.96 million, the Fort Myers property to LaSalle Bank for $7.8 million and the Lehigh Acres property to Wells Fargo Bank for $4.125 million.