Commercial Real Estate Briefs

By Business Observer Staff
| 6:00 p.m. May 30, 2008
| 2 Free Articles Remaining!

Manatee-Sarasota

by Sean Roth | Real Estate Editor

SARASOTA-MANATEE

Bradenton developer plans surgery center

BUYER: Bath LLC (principal: Thomas Brown Sr.), Bradenton

SELLER: Portico Condominiums LLC

PROPERTY: 1919, 1915 1911, 1907 and 1903 Worth Court, Bradenton

PRICE: $2.2 million

LAW FIRM ON DEED: Grimes Goebel Grimes Hawkins Gladfelter & Galvano PL, Bradenton

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: Tom Brown Sr., of Tom Brown Real Estate Investments LLC and Wagner Realty, purchased five units in the Portico Condominiums in Bradenton for $2.32 million. The developer/agent has already leased the 16,000-square-foot space to Coastal Orthopedics & Sports Medicine for a new surgery center.

Brown is hopeful that Zirkelbach Construction, the general contractor, will start the buildout in June. The new location is scheduled to open in January.

Coastal Orthopedics currently occupies three locations: a clinic at Pointe West Medical Plaza, along with offices on S.R. 64 and at Lakewood Ranch.

Brown says he realized the practice's need for a new location after he had both of his knees replaced.

The purchase entity Bath LLC mortgaged the five units to Seaside National Bank & Trust for $2.32 million.

Osprey investor buys

Myakka agricultural land

BUYER: Ronald Allen, Osprey

SELLER: Myakka Valley Preserve LLC

PROPERTY: 31625 Clay Gully Road, Myakka City

PRICE: $3.4 million

PREVIOUS PRICE: $2.93 million, June 2006

LAW FIRM ON DEED: Riddell Law Group and RiddellTitle & Escrow LLC, Sarasota

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: Ronald Allen of Allen Investments of Ellenton purchased 101 acres on Clay Gully Road near the back entrance to Myakka State Park for $3.4 million.

"I was looking for land to invest in when this site caught my eye," Allen says. "I even had to pay a good price for it, but it has a lot of development potential. The original owner built a bridge over a stream there. It's not a steal but we will see what happens."

In the short term, Allen says he likes owning rural land, but in the future it could be subdivided into five-acre lots for residential development. The property is currently being used as cattle-grazing land.

Plaza Hotel bound for Burns Square

Boca Raton developer Al Hochstadt is pushing forward with plans to develop The Plaza Hotel at 630 Orange Ave. in downtown Sarasota. He expects to have site-plan approval from the city to start construction of the hotel toward the beginning of 2009.

"There were some people who feel this project shouldn't be built," Hochstadt says. "In our opinion, this could be extremely beneficial to the area, bringing some significant added activity to revitalize the Burns Square area."

Hochstadt described the five-story, 173-room hotel as a four- or five-star hotel. He said a brand has not been selected.

Etc...

• KJM Holdings LLC purchased a 5,000-square-foot industrial building at 7137 24th Court E. in the Centre Park Industrial Subdivision from Osborne Enterprises LLC for $550,000. KJM Holdings LLC will lease the property to Seawide Marine Distribution. Carl Wise of Preferred Commercial Inc. handled the transaction.

• Manatee County has opened the new Judicial Complex in downtown Bradenton. Designed by the Tampa office of Hellmuth, Obata & Kassabaum Inc., in association with Fawley-Bryant Architects, the 268,000-square-foot courthouse houses 19 courtrooms.

• Wagner Realty was recently awarded the rental management of Harbour Villa Club of Longboat Key, including the condominium units and boat slips. The Harbour Villa Club is located at 615 Dream Island Road on Sarasota Bay and features a private, heated pool, 10-person spa and deep-water marina with boat ramp. The Harbour Villa Club condominiums can be rented on a weekly or monthly basis.

Deep-water boat slips can be rented and accommodate yachts up to 50 feet long with drafts up to 5 feet and beams to 15 feet.

• WellSpring Pharmaceutical Corp. has purchased 3,117 square feet in University Professional Park at 5911 Honore Ave., Sarasota, for $844,525. Diane Lawson of Abbey Realty handled the transaction.

• Brooks & Freund has reached the halfway point in the construction of the City of North Port Family Services Center on Pan American Boulevard. The 15,000-square-foot structure will house a collection of social service providers. Alliance Design Group provided architectural design services. Construction is expected to be complete in August.

• Brooks & Freund is also 50% complete in construction of the Gulf Breeze Village on Myrtle Street in Punta Gorda. The 49 apartment buildings and clubhouse feature a Key West-style design. The developer for the project is Norstar Development USA LLC. Kadushin Associates is providing Architectural Services. Construction is scheduled for completion in October.

• Work on a 5.4-million streetscape and beautification project in Siesta Key Village is scheduled to start on June 1. Phase one of the Siesta Key Village Beautification Project calls for utility lines to be relocated underground along Ocean Boulevard from Beach Road to south of Treasure Boat Way. The work should be completed by September. Florida Power & Light Co. has hired Utility Line Construction Inc., and will oversee the $1.2-million first phase. Phase two, which is slated to begin in August, will consist of streetscape and beautification enhancements to Ocean Boulevard and adjacent side streets, including brick sidewalks, crosswalks and street medallions, decorative lighting and street signage, landscaping and irrigation. Funding for the entire project is being provided by the county's general revenues and the infrastructure surtax (penny sales tax).

LEE-COLLIER

Foreign investor buys Tuscany Reserve

BUYER: AB Naples LLC (AB Tuscany Holdings Inc.), Naples

SELLER: WCI Communities Inc.

PROPERTY: lots 3, 4, 7-9, 11-13, 18, 20 and 21, block C and lots 1, 2, 6-10, 12, 13, 15-18, block D and lot 2, block M, Plat of Tuscany Reserve and various other lots and tracts in Tuscany Reserve, between Immokalee and Bonita Beach roads, North Naples

PRICE: $65 million

LAW FIRM ON DEED: Goodlette Coleman Johnson Yavanovich Koester PA, Naples

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: AB Naples LLC, an ownership group made up of European and Middle East investors, purchased the 470-acre golf-course community Tuscany Reserve in North Naples from troubled residential developer WCI Communities Inc. for $65 million.

The purchase price equates to $138,298 an acre and includes two completed but unsold condominiums, a single-family estate home, villa unit, 18-hole championship golf course and about two-thirds of the community's infrastructure. The development has been approved for a total of 560 units in a mixture of multi- and single-family homes.

The new ownership plans a complete renovation of the clubhouse, which has experienced delays due to the tumult from the current residential downturn, and much of the remaining infrastructure work. The developer also plans to spend about $1 million to stop water from leaking from the community's two lakes.

"One of our main focuses is to reassure the people that are living there and the broker community," says Rainer Filthaut of IRC International Realty Corp., who is serving as president of AB Tuscany Holdings Inc., the parent company of the AB Naples. "We want to reestablish that trust. Our main focus is not selling right now. We don't have bank financing, so we don't have to feel we have to sell it right now at what would be very discounted prices. We're planning to take the next two to three months for strategic thinking; to really plan the development."

Filthaut says the ownership is already fairly settled on the price point of $1 million to $4 million.

AB Naples also includes Jeff Mangan, owner of JRM Consulting LLC and a longtime project and club manager in Southwest Florida, and Stacia Turner, who has experience in the financial operations of club communities.

Tuscany Reserve is the first venture in the United States for AB Naples, and Filthaut says the group is looking for additional real estate investments here.

"We have international investors, and the dollar is low," Filthaut says. "We can't call it the lowest [price] point, because who knows exactly when we'll reach that, but there is certainly a discount."

Centerco Properties company

buys Applebee's in Estero

BUYER: CCB VI LLC (Clayton Carondelet Buildings LLC), St. Louis

SELLER: GE Capital Franchise Finance Corp.

PROPERTY: 10391 Corkscrew Commons Drive, Estero

PRICE: $3.78 million

PREVIOUS PRICE: $3.5 million, July 2007

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: CCB VI LLC, a subsidiary entity of the St. Louis-based real estate investment and management firm Centerco Properties LLC, purchased the 5,800-square-foot Applebee's restaurant in Estero Interstate Commerce Park for $3.78 million.

"I liked the location and the tenant," says Arthur Loomstein, CEO for Centerco Properties. "The 20-year lease was already in place there."

The restaurant sits on a 1.7-acre parcel next to an Embassy Suites hotel.

In January, a similar affiliate company, CCB III LLC, purchased a 6,800-square-foot Goodyear Tire store on Collier Boulevard in Naples for $3.17 million.

CCB VI LLC mortgaged the Applebee's property to Homesteaders Life Co. for $2.25 million

Talk of the Town Diner buys

Mel's Diner in Fort Myers

BUYER: 19050 Restaurant Corp. (principal: Peter Toutoulis), Fort Myers

SELLER: 207 LLC

PROPERTY: 19050 S. Tamiami Trail and additional associated vacant land, Fort Myers

PRICE: $2.83 million

PREVIOUS PRICE: $2.8 million, February 2007

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: A company headed by Peter Toutoulis of Fort Myers purchased a freestanding 5,483-square-foot former Mel's Diner restaurant building in San Carlos Park for $2.83 million. Toutoulis' son John Toutoulis and John's wife Carolyn have relocated the couple's Talk of the Town Diner into the building. Talk of the Town Diner previously occupied a leased location in a strip mall farther north at 16520 S. Tamiami Trail.

"We were in the plaza there, and it was hard trying to get people to find us," Carolyn Toutoulis says. "We didn't have any signs out to the street. We got a lot of our customers from word of mouth. That's why we were so excited when we heard this building was going up for sale."

19050 Restaurant Corp. mortgaged the property to the former owner 207 LLC for $2.26 million.

Etc...

• Keene Construction Co. awarded Eagle Concrete Systems a contract to complete the concrete work for Valencia Square, a Publix-anchored shopping center at 10935 Jog Road in Boynton Beach. This is the first project on Florida's east coast for Eagle Concrete, which is expanding its operations to encompass all of Florida.

Eagle will provide concrete pads, footing, CMU walls and tie beams for the 83,400-square-foot center, comprised of six retail buildings. Marc Weiner provided the design.

• Professional Building Systems completed construction on the Family Foot and Leg Center in 661 Goodlette Road, Suite 103. The space is nearly twice as large as the medical practice's previous office. Designed by Brooks Swanson Architects, the office features tile flooring, granite countertops as well as chair rail and crown molding. In addition to the reception area, there are five treatment rooms, three offices and a dedicated X-ray room.

• Brooks & Freund has completed the construction of Reliance Bank at 2499 Lee Blvd. in Lehigh Acres. Sheeley Architects provided the architectural design services.

• Compass Construction Inc. completed the new Moose Lodge #2199 at 155 Santa Barbara Blvd. North in Cape Coral.

The Moose Lodge replaces an earlier building that was damaged in a fire in 2006 and sits on 3.64 acres. The 12,000-square-foot facility features a large dining room, bar area dance floor, offices, conference room and children's room.

• A Microtel Inn & Suites hotel has opened at 4056 Tamiami Trail in Port Charlotte. One of the first hotels to open in the area since Hurricane Charley in 2004, it is also the area's first Green hotel. The three-story, 86-room Port Charlotte Microtel is owned by Village Port LLC and Dr. Mark O. Asperilla – a well-known physician – and managed by SKY Hospitality of Palm Harbor. Microtel is the Atlanta-based, award-winning chain of economy/limited service hotels.

• Ultimate House of Pancakes Inc. leased 4,131 square feet of restaurant space at 5705 Lee Blvd., Units 6, 7 & 8 from Lee Boulevard West LLC. Honora' Jacobus and Todd Holman of Woodyard & Associates LLC negotiated this transaction.

• AJ's Auto & Fleet Services Inc. leased 7,000 square feet of fleet- maintenance space at 5660 Division Drive from Sox Properties Inc. Todd Holman of Woodyard & Associates LLC negotiated the transaction.

• Allen Ronald purchased 2,097 square feet of retail space at 4141 Tamiami Trail from Gerard and Marjory Pizzuti for $450,000. Thomas E. Woodyard of Woodyard & Associates LLC negotiated the transaction.

• Naples 9 LLC purchased the Bank of Florida office condominium containing 30,268 square feet at 1185 Immokalee Road Naples, from Citizens Reserve LLC for $11.5 million. Michael J. Frye, CCIM, of Re/Max Realty Group Commercial Division negotiated the transaction.

• Gates recently completed construction of the Interpretive Center at the Six Mile Cypress Slough Preserve for Lee County Government. Upon certification, the Interpretive Center will be the first LEED-certified, green- built commercial project in either Lee or Collier County.

The two-story Interpretive Center is located within the Six Mile Cypress Slough Preserve in Fort Myers and features educational displays, meeting space, an office for the Parks & Recreation Department, an outdoor teaching pavilion and a bookstore. Parker Mudgett Smith Architects designed the facility.

• Eagle Concrete Systems completed concrete work for general contractor J.L. Wallace Inc. on the Park Center Offices at 8255-8267 College Parkway. The project includes a 14,532-square-foot office building and a 14,751-square-foot medical building. Gora-McGahey Associates designed the building.

• Stevens Construction Inc. has started construction on the Florida Hospital Heartland Division Emergency Room. Designed by Burt Hill/Pollock Kreig Architects Inc., the 5,350-square-foot renovation will be completed in three phases while the hospital remains in operation.

Renovations include remodeling a pharmacy, adding a nurse's station and reconfiguring the emergency and treatment rooms.

The emergency room is Stevens Construction's eighth project for Florida Hospital. The company also built a 36-bed, 50,000-square-foot expansion and remodeled a freestanding medical office on the hospital's Sebring campus.

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Comcast leased 57,000 square feet of office space at the Eastlinks Business Park from McGarvey Development. The Eastlinks Business Park is located in the Gateway area of South Fort Myers. The new facility will house Comcast's administrative, customer service, sales and marketing, commercial development and dispatch operations.

Eastlinks Business Park is a 46-acre, mixed-use park at the intersection of Daniels Parkway and Gateway Boulevard. The project, which is adjacent to Westlinks Business Park, features 174,000 square feet of office space and 173,000 square feet of flex space in six buildings.

• Owen-Ames-Kimball Co. completed construction of the Peace River replacement elementary school for the Charlotte County School District.

The two-story, 112,000-square-foot school includes 47 classrooms and labs, a media center and a multipurpose/dining area. The new school features interactive, height-adjustable writing boards; an audio-enhanced sound system; interior and exterior security cameras; and hurricane-resistant windows.

The property also features a separate physical education building, covered play area and two fenced-in playgrounds.

• Paradise-Shell Factory II LLC leased 4,000 square feet of office and warehouse space at 12296 Matterhorn Road, Unit A-2, from Southwest Regional LLC. Todd Holman of Woodyard & Associates, LLC negotiated the transaction.

• J.L. Wallace Inc. has completed construction of the Fitness Center at Heritage Bay. Developed by Lennar Homes, the new community is located at 10168 Heritage Bay Blvd. in Naples. The 7,986-square-foot fitness center features a workout room, aerobics room, salon, massage parlor and a 1,998-square-foot swimming pool with spa.

• Eagle Concrete Systems has completed the concrete work on the 16,323-square-foot Hopgood Building on Mercantile Avenue between Industrial and Commercial boulevards in Naples. Eagle Concrete provided structural construction services for the office and warehouse facility using steel-reinforced, concrete blocks. The project included a wholesale fish- packaging plant, freezer and office space. Torrey Co. was the general contractor and Disney & Associates designed the structure.

• Tractor Supply Co. leased 22,670 square feet of indoor space and 20,000 square feet of an outdoor display area in Home Center Plaza at 13235 Tamiami Trail East in Naples, from Southern Development Co. Inc. Fred Kermani of CB Richard Ellis Fort Myers-Naples represented the landlord, and Don Gross of LandQwest Commercial represented the tenant.

• Accelerated Learning Solutions leased 10,600 square feet of space at 428 Pine Island Road S.W. in Cape Coral from Craig and Gail Campbell as trustees. Enn Luthringer and Scott Miller, both of CB Richard Ellis Fort Myers-Naples, brokered the transaction.

• Provident Jewelry leased 3,117 square feet of space in the Shops at Jamaica Bay at 15245 Tamiami Trail in Fort Myers from WPJB LLC. Bob Vigliotti of CB Richard Ellis Fort Myers-Naples represented the tenant, and Colliers Arnold represented the landlord.

• Richard Bowen AIA & Associates, Architects & Planners leased 2,299 square feet of office space at 950 Encore Way, Suite 102, from LarsonAllen LLP. Thomas E. Woodyard of Woodyard & Associates LLC represented the seller, and Denise DaSilveira of Gates Total Solutions represented the buyer.

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Fort Myers-based Eagle Concrete Systems has completed concrete work for general contractor DeAngelis Diamond on a three-story facility for Lock-Up Self Storage Suites at Immokalee Road and Cypress Way East in Naples. Eagle Concrete constructed all of the structural concrete and masonry systems for the 109,433-square-foot building, using tilt-up construction.

TAMPA BAY

Castriota dealership expands to Port Richey

BUYER: CAM Auto Properties LLC (principals: Tom and Anita Castriota), Hudson

SELLER: Wood Motors South Inc.

PROPERTY: 8425 U.S. Highway 19, Port Richey

PRICE: $2.02 million

LAW FIRM ON DEED: William J. Kimpton PA, Dunedin

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: Tom and Anita Castriota's Castriota Chevrolet auto dealership is expanding to the Ridge Road-U.S. 19 area of Port Richey. The Castriotas purchased the older Gateway Honda dealership site on U.S. 19, across the street from the new Gateway Honda dealership, for $2.02 million.

The property features an 11,000-square-foot main building and an approximately 200-square-foot secondary building along with room on the site to store about 300 vehicles.

"We've outgrown our space here [in Hudson]," Tom Castriota says. "We see this as freeing us up to start offering older used cars that are a lot older, but still in good shape and reliable, from the $3,000 to $4,000 range on up to $15,000. We were also attracted to spreading out to the State Road 52 corridor. That area is becoming very viable."

Castriota plans to clean up the smaller building, but not do much operationally with it. The new ownership is currently painting as well as renovating the exterior of the larger building including installing new signage and awnings. It is also working to bring the bathrooms up to code and replace the light fixtures, duct and air-conditioning system, and flooring. The larger building will be divided into a 6,000-square-foot service and parts area and an approximately 4,500-square-foot sales office and showroom. The dealership location will be branded Castriota Auto Sale and is scheduled to open in mid-June.

Ryan Cos. buys, begins

developing in Telecom Park

BUYER: Ryan Cos. U.S. Inc. (principals: James and Patrick Ryan, Timothy Gray and Mary Wawro), Minneapolis

SELLER: Triton Property Group Florida LLC

PROPERTY: 7802 E. Telecom Parkway, Temple Terrace

PRICE: $4.85 million

PREVIOUS PRICE: $1.05 million, March 2006

LAW FIRM ON DEED: Hill Ward & Henderson PA, Tampa

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: Minneapolis-based developer, builder and manager Ryan Cos. U.S. Inc. purchased 18 acres east of Hollow Stump Road in Tampa Telecom Park Eastern for $4.85 million.

The company is developing two, four-story, 115,000-square-foot office buildings and the associated site work including extending Telecom Parkway to Fletcher Avenue. Construction on the buildings began three weeks ago, and is scheduled for completion in March of 2009.

"That is the last undeveloped parcel of any size in that park," says Gary Bauler, vice president of development. "Rental rates in that area tend to run in the mid-$20 per square foot range, Bauler says.

The company has operated in the Tampa Bay area as a general contractor for the past 10 years and opened a separate Tampa office two years ago. It recently completed developing its first, self-owned industrial building in the Tampa area, a 91,000-square-foot facility in South Shore Corporate Park.

CB Richard Ellis' Tampa office to market the Telecom Park property.

Pasco County School District

buys land for new high school

BUYER: District School Board of Pasco County, Land O' Lakes

SELLER: Daniel C. Lian

PROPERTY: Shady Hills Road and Crela Drive, Spring Hill

PRICE: $1.11 million

TITLE FIRM ON DEED: 1st Affiliated Title Services Inc., New Port Richey

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: The District School Board of Pasco County purchased 30 acres on Shady Hills Road three miles north of S.R. 52, next to 58 acres it already owns, for $1.11 million. The school district is developing the 193,926-square-foot, three-story Crews Lake Middle School on 20 of the 58 acres.

"That school is scheduled to open in August," says John Letvin, supervisor of planning for the school district. "That leaves about 38 acres vacant. We bought this land to add to [the vacant 38 acres] for a future high school. This is part of our long-term planning. We wanted to make sure that land didn't get locked up. We got it for a lot less than what [we] paid for the [Shady Hills Road] frontage."

The new school will be named High School HHH. Also, the school district has approved building another high school, known as High School III, on a 90-acre site on Handcart Road, a quarter mile from Fairfield Heights Road.