Commercial Real Estate Briefs

By Business Observer Staff
| 6:00 p.m. October 30, 2008
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COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE Lee-Collier by Sean Roth | Real Estate Editor

Fort Myers physician buys building

BUYER: Summerlin Professional Building LLC (principal: Suresh Chavakula), Fort Myers

SELLER: Bala and Jansi Prabakaran

PROPERTY: 5050 Mason Corbin Court, Fort Myers

PRICE: $1.54 million

LAW FIRM ON DEED: Henderson Franklin Starnes & Holt PA, Bonita Springs

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: Summerlin Professional Building LLC, a limited liability purchase entity headed by gastroenterologist Dr. Suresh Chavakula, purchased a 6,000-square-foot medical office building on Mason Corbin Court for $1.54 million. The building formerly housed Consultants In Gastroenterology and both Chavakula and one of the former owners Jansi Prabakaran were affiliated with the practice. Chavakula has since bought out those partners and created a single-physician practice called Gastroenterology Consultants of Southwest Florida, which will operate from the existing building. Chavakula is also looking to add additional doctor/partners to the practice.

The Mason Corbin Court building, which is run as an ambulatory surgery center, is being called the Fort Myers Endoscopy Center. It was originally built in 1990, according to the real estate research firm The CoStar Group.

Regent Properties buys land,

betting on residential recovery

BUYER: SHR Tice Street LLC (Regent Properties LLC), Los Angeles

SELLER: SCC Canyon II LLC

PROPERTY: 5281 Tice St and additional land on Tice Street fronting Interstate 75, Fort Myers

PRICE: $900,000

LAW FIRM ON DEED: Jeffer Mangels Butler & Marmaro LLP, Los Angeles, Calif.

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: Regent Properties purchased 60.3 acres bordering Tice Street and Interstate 75 from SCC Canyon II, LLC of Santa Monica, Calif. for $900,000, equal to an average of $14,925 an acre.

"We're not sure what we're going to do with it right now," says Doug Brown, managing partner of Regent Properties. "We've acquired four properties in the Fort Myers-Naples area in the past five months, and we're looking for more. We're waiting to see where the current market goes. We just see it as a good opportunity. We're willing to take a bet on Florida's long-term recovery."

The new ownership plans to reevaluate the market and it's holdings there in the next six months to a year. Brown says the property is zone for residential development. Janie Hooker of Land Solutions Inc. was the listing broker.

Founded in 1989, Regent Properties has acquired, developed and financed more than $1 billion in real estate deals covering more than two million square feet of retail, commercial, residential and mixed-use projects and over 8,000 acres of residential communities.

Port Charlotte buyers acquire Courtyard Retirement Centre

BUYER: Alps Assisted Living LLC (principals: Alan and Alex Siquijor), Port Charlotte

SELLER: The Courtyards of Horizon LLC

PROPERTY: 26455 Rampart Blvd., Punta Gorda

PRICE: $2.9 million

PREVIOUS PRICE: $2.1 million, March 2006

TITLE FIRM ON DEED: Complete Title Services, Clearwater

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: Alps Assisted Living LLC, a limited liability firm owned by Alex and Alan Siquijor of Port Charlotte, purchased the 24,490-square-foot The Courtyard Retirement Centre in Punta Gorda for $2.9 million. The 50-bed assisted-living facility sits on 3.25 acres and was originally built in 1989. It was renovated in 2005. The center specializes in working with veterans.

As of Oct. 24, the new ownership had not taken over operations and was still awaiting its license. The Review's attempts to contact the new ownership were unsuccessful prior to deadline. Alps Assisted Living LLC mortgaged the property to Community South Bank for $2 million.

ETC...

• Brooks & Freund has been awarded a contract for construction of the Gateway Golf maintenance facility at 11360 Championship Drive Fort Myers. The project includes a 10,000-square-foot maintenance facility and a chemical and fertilizer storage building.

• Lee Woodall d/b/a Hair Design Studio leased hair salon space at 12995 S. Cleveland Avenue, suite 235B, Fort Myers from Pinebrook Pine LLC. Todd Holman and Steve Wood of Woodyard & Associates LLC handled the transaction.

• Premier Home Rentals of Florida LLC leased office space at 12995 S. Cleveland Ave., PBS 59, Fort Myers from Pinebrook Pine LLC. Steve Wood of Woodyard & Associates LLC handled the transaction.

• Sand Castle Realty Group leased office space at 12995 S. Cleveland Avenue, PBS 5, Fort Myers from Pinebrook Pine LLC. Steve Wood of Woodyard & Associates LLC handled the transaction.

•Appliance World Sales LLC leased 2,400 square feet at 2090 Beacon Manor Drive in Fort Myers from Fort Myers Warehouse City LLC. Carlos Acosta of Boback Commercial Group at Re/Max Edge handled the transaction.

• Mattie Williams d/b/a Unique Image Beauty Salon leased a 2,529-square-foot space at 5513 Eighth St. S.W., units 4 and 5 in Lehigh Acres from JSW Westgate Properties LLLP. Jim Boback of Boback Commercial Group at Re/Max Edge handled the transaction.

• DeAngelis Diamond Construction Inc. has started construction on Laishley Park in Punta Gorda. Laishley Park is located at 100 Nesbit Street in Punta Gorda. The project includes two open air pavilions with pre-fabricated structures; ten-stall restroom facility and a fountain control room; site work and utilities; sidewalks and brick pavers.

• Bluestar Products leased 4,400 square feet of flex space at 10090 Intercom Drive in the Fort Myers from Commerce Park Project LLLP Commerce Park. Dan Miller of the Miller Alliance at Re/Max represented the tenant and Eric Lahaie of LandQwest Commercial represented the landlord.

• Banker Lopez Gassler PA leased 4,400 square feet of space at 4315 Metro Parkway in Fort Myers from Metro Parkway Operating Associates LP. Dave Forgey of Florida Westshore Realty represented the tenant, and Jennifer Horne with LandQwest Commercial represented the landlord.

• World Championship Taekwondo Inc. leased 7,200 square feet of office and warehouse space at 12801 Commonwealth Drive, Fort Myers from McGarvey Development Co. Matt Price of McGarvey Development handled the transaction.

• Gora/McGahey Associates in Architecture is providing interior design services for the Children's Advocacy Center of Southwest Florida, a crisis center for sexually and physically abused children. The project calls for the renovation a 20-year-old, 20,000-square-foot building located at 3830 Evans Ave. in Fort Myers. Gora/McGahey is designing the center with an aquatic theme featuring a palette of soothing colors such as pale blues, aqua greens and sandy yellows. A mural of sea waves, fish, coral and seaweeds will cover the concrete floors and feature walls. Target Builders Inc. is the general contractor.

• Interactyx Ltd. leased 2,035 square feet of office space at 3461 Bonita Bay Blvd. in Bonita Bay Executive Center from McGarvey Development Co. Charles Jans of McGarvey Development handled the transaction.

• Commercial real estate firm LandQwest Commercial LLC has moved its corporate headquarters to 5,600-square-foot space at 12800 University Drive, suite 150 in Fort Myers. LandQwest Commercial LLC will be bringing all three-company divisions: LandQwest Commercial, LandQwest Commercial Property Management and LandQwest Asset Recovery together under one roof.

Gora/McGahey Associates

designs Coronado High School

Gora/McGahey Associates in Architecture recently provided the architectural services for Community Education Partners for Coronado High School at 3057 Cleveland Ave. in Fort Myers.

The project involved converting a former mercantile/warehouse facility into a 10,000-square-foot alternative high school. Gora/McGahey Associates in Architecture provided planning, architectural design and construction administration services.

Ringland Construction Inc. oversaw construction of the project.

COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE TAMPA BAY by Sean Roth | Real Estate Editor

Irish group buys Citrus Falls Commons

BUYER: CFC Syndicate LLC (principals: Padraic Lalor, John O'Shea and John Doyle), Lutz

SELLER: MTN Sheldon Partners LLC

PROPERTY: 11901 Sheldon Road, Tampa

PRICE: $9.8 million

PREVIOUS PRICE: $575,000, October 2003

TITLE FIRM ON DEED: Landguard Title Services LLC, St. Petersburg

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: CFC Syndicate LLC, a real investment fund made up of 14 investors in Ireland and managed by John Doyle of Lutz-based Doyle & McGrath Real Estate LLC, purchased the 30,500-square-foot Citrus Falls Commons on Sheldon Road for $9.8 million. The center was fully leased at the time of the sale and currently houses: Mellow Mushroom Restaurant, Curves, From the Ground up Coffee Shop, Solar Nails, Let's Eat, Cheers Wine & Spirits, Fast Track Walk-in Clinic, Verizon Wireless, Harry's Seafood Restaurant, Northshore Tanning, Carvel Ice Cream, Feet First, Hair Salon and Martinizing Dry Cleaners. The center was built in 2005.

"This is the nicest retail center in Tampa," says Doyle. "The architecture is so different from anything else in the area."

That level of quality and the lack of any vacancy led to the premium price, Doyle says. The new ownership plans to own Citrus Falls Commons for at least the next five to ten years.

Doyle & McGrath continues to look for investment properties in the Tampa Bay area for international investors and provides the property management for the investments.

Capital Realty Investors

buy Selmon's Plaza in Largo

BUYER: CRI Plaza 1 LLC, Tampa

SELLER: Kimco Largo 196 Inc.

PROPERTY: 2480 East Bay Drive, Largo

PRICE: $3.22 million

LAW FIRM ON DEED: DLA Piper LLP, Tampa

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: Tampa-based real estate investment firm Capital Realty Investors LLC purchased the 56,668-square-foot Selmon's Plaza shopping center in Largo from Kimco Realty Corp. for $3.22 million, equal to an average of $57 a square foot. The property had several vacancies, which led Capital Realty Investors to view it as a value-add opportunity, according to Gina Space, operations manager for CRI. The new ownership has since leased space to the fitness center YouFit and an Indigo Joes restaurant. In addition, CRI officials have already started cutting back trees to improve the center's visibility along East Bay Drive and Alternative Keene Road and are in discussion with the city of Largo on additional signage.

"The superior location and the presence of such outstanding retailers .... as Starbucks, Walgreens, CVS on the high traffic intersection and the tremendous future for the area made the center a very attractive acquisition for our firm," Ben Wacksman, president of Capital Realty Investors LLC, wrote in an e-mail to the Review. "We were very pleased to have negotiated the transaction with such a high caliber firm as Kimco."

CRI has retained Pappas Retail Leasing & Management to handle the on-site management.

"It was a really good opportunity to buy in Pinellas County, one of the most dense counties in Florida," Space says. "Plus it's at a major intersection near several residential neighborhoods that are predicted to experience above average growth the next several years. We plan to serve these residents for years to come."

CRI owns more than a million square feet of office, industrial, retail and resort properties in Florida. The firm focuses on investments ranging from $5 to $75 million. CRI owns Tampa's The Marketplace at Cypress Creek Shopping Center, Grand Oak at Hidden River, Capital Centre at SoHo, Palm Lake at Tampa Palms, IntelliSpace Solutions - Flex Suites, Radisson Bay Harbor Hotel, Airport Corporate Center, Black & Decker Facility and Hopewell Distribution Center.

W.S. Badcock Corp.

buys Ruskin store, franchise

BUYER: W.S. Badcock Corp. (principals: Ben, Henry and Wogan Badcock and Raymond Ray and Donald Marks), Mulberry

SELLER: Robert and Carol Stringer

PROPERTY: 1510 E. College Ave., Ruskin

PRICE: $2.2 million

PREVIOUS PRICE: $254,800, August 2005

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: Mulberry-based retailer W.S. Badcock Corp. purchased an 18,000-square-foot existing Badcock Home Furniture & More building in Ruskin from Robert and Carol Stringer for $2.2 million, equal to $123 a square foot.

"The dealers decided to get out of the business, and so the company decided to buy it and the building," says Sarah Markus, communications manager. "That store was remodeled recently so it's going to stay the way it is."

Founded in 1904, W.S. Badcock Corp. is one of the largest home furniture retailers in the United States. There are more than 300 Badcock stores in eight states and W.S. Badcock employs more than 1,200 people.

COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE SARASOTA-MANATEE by Sean Roth | Real Estate Editor

Mobile Home Depot owner buys Antique Mall

BUYER: Stephen Guzman, individual and trust, Nokomis

SELLER: Dennis and Betty Lou Dick

PROPERTY: 1250 N. U.S. 301, Palmetto

PRICE: $1.3 million

PREVIOUS PRICE: $1.23 million, October 2007

TITLE FIRM ON DEED: Cornerstone Title and Settlement Services LLC, Bradenton

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: Stephen Guzman, owner of the Palmetto's Mobile Home Depot, purchased two metal buildings totaling 17,600 square feet of commercial space on U.S. 301 in Palmetto for $1.3 million, equal to an average of about $74 per square foot. The property included the 8,500-square-foot Emiline's Antique Mall fronting U.S. 301 and behind it a 9,100-square-foot second building that Guzman's recreational-vehicle parts business now occupies.

"We were just down the street a couple blocks, but we had to move," Guzman says. "We wanted to stay in that area and this just happened to be the closet building we could find that fit our parameters. This will allow us to carry a few more products we didn't have before."

The new location gives Mobile Home Depot an additional 2,000 square feet.

Troy Pittman of RealtyOne Alliance handled the transaction.

Guzman mortgaged the property to Bank of America NA for $1.17 million.

Benderson Development

files revised BofA plans

After significantly revising its plans following the recent condo crash, Benderson Development Co. Inc. his filed a new site plan to redevelop some of the 130,189-square-foot Bank of America building it owns on Main Street in Downtown Sarasota. As currently described, the giant developer plans to demolish a two-story section of the building that houses Bank of America's retail operations and parking to create a 147-room, 180-foot hotel building with 55,646-square feet of office space. Benderson would also develop a parking garage on another section of the property. Javier Suarez of The ADP Group designed the development, and Jensen and Group LLC is handling the civil engineering work. Freedman Consulting & Development LLC is spearheading the approval processes.

As currently planned, the Ellis building's central tower, which features the University Club, would remain unchanged.

Benderson purchased the building at close to the top of the market in early 2005 from Palm Beach-based Tricony Management for $13.5 million. In early 2006, Benderson first suggested a $145-million project with 326 hotel rooms and condominiums, 20,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space; a 150-seat, 2,250-square-foot restaurant; and 63,350 square feet of mixed-use space.

The site plan suggests a possible build out date in 2010.

After reorganization,

Patrick regains Tropic Isle

BUYER: Ami's Tropic Isle Inn LLC (principal: J. Michael Patrick), Gainesville

SELLER: OB Tropic Isle LLC

PROPERTY: 101 N. 22nd St., Holmes Beach

PRICE: $3.95 million

PREVIOUS PRICE: $4.1 million, November 2005

LAW FIRM ON DEED: Bush Ross PA, Tampa

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: Ami's Tropic Isle Inn LLC, a limited liability company headed by Michael Patrick of Gainesville, purchased the 15-room Tropic Isle Inn on Bradenton Beach for $3.95 million, equal to an average of $263,333 a room.

The purchase follows the no-value sale of the property to Orion Bank last month as a part of the Chapter-11 bankruptcy reorganization of Tropic Isle Investors LLC, a company headed by Patrick and Roger and Roy Desjarlais. Tropic Isle Investors LLC purchased the property in November of 2005 from William and Heather Romberger's Tropic Isle A Seaside Inn Inc. for $4.1 million.

Calls to Patrick were not returned prior to publication.

The inn sits on two acres on Anna Maria Island across Gulf Drive from a private beach.

ETC...

Medical Education Technologies

plans Bee Ridge expansion

Medical Education Technologies Inc., a supplier of human patient simulators and education software and training, plans to expand business operations in Sarasota County. The company intends to build a new 70,000-square-foot facility east of Interstate 75 off Bee Ridge Road.

"METI has enjoyed being a part of the Sarasota County business community ever since we started our company in 1996," Lou Oberndorf, founder, president and CEO of METI, said in a press release. "It was important for us to stay in Sarasota, and we are grateful to the County Commissioners and the Economic Development Corp. of Sarasota County who embraced us and really got busy to turn this around quickly. We're proud to take Sarasota's name around the world."

SchenkelShultz Architecture, Sarasota designed Florida Gulf Coast University's newly constructed $19.5 million, 70,173-square-foot Lutgert Hall in Fort Myers. Lutgert Hall houses the university's business students and marks the entrance to the university's campus. The four-story building contains: ten classrooms and two tiered case study classrooms; three conference rooms for students and faculty; a student affairs suite; a career development suite with an interview room; a student management portfolio room and an executive training room; a three-story atrium with a student lounge area; and dean's suite and faculty offices. Owens Ames Kimball Co. was the construction manager for the project.

• The Wellness Community of Southwest Florida has announced plans to break ground later this month on the 11,000-square-foot Building Hope project in Lakewood Ranch. The cancer-support organization plans to develop two 5,000-square-foot buildings on a site backing up to a 600-acre nature preserve.

• P&S Properties Inc. purchased a 22,430-square-foot industrial lot at 2160 Cornell St., Sarasota from Upmans Wrecker Service Inc. for $270,000. Marcia Cuttler and Marc Insalaco of American Property Group of Sarasota Inc. handled the transaction.

• P&S Properties Inc. purchased a 3,117-square-foot industrial lot at 2195 12th St., Sarasota from Upmans Wrecker Service Inc. for $200,000. Marcia Cuttler and Marc Insalaco of American Property Group of Sarasota Inc. handled the transaction.

• P&S Properties Inc. purchased a 3,360-square-foot industrial lot at 2195 12th St., Sarasota from Upmans Wrecker Service Inc. for $270,000. Marcia Cuttler and Marc Insalaco of American Property Group of Sarasota Inc. handled the transaction.

Sam Rodgers Homes

start work on 'Gran' clubhouse

Construction has started on the first 23,000-square-foot phase of the Gran Paradiso Resort, a 40,000-square-foot (at completion) Tuscan-inspired clubhouse. Phase 1 will feature a state-of-the-art spa fitness center with aerobics center, saunas, steam rooms, massage/treatment rooms and locker rooms; library, media center, billiard/game/card rooms, craft room with kiln, concierge/reception area, boardroom, porte-cochere entry and adjoining loggias. Outdoor amenities include a 7,000-square-foot resort lagoon pool with reflection ponds and fountain, a hot tub, a cabana that includes a grilling area, an expansive courtyard gardens with brick-paver walkways; and a tennis pavilion with eight clay tennis courts (four in Phase 1), a stadium champion's court and a junior Olympic heated lap pool.

The first phase of the project is expected to cost $8 million and is scheduled for completion in the fall of 2009. Affiniti Architects of Boca Raton designed the project. The project is located on Galleria Boulevard just off Jacaranda Boulevard in North Port. Sam Rodgers Homes & Neighborhoods is the developer of the 1,068-acre master-planned Gran Paradiso At The West Villages At Thomas Ranch community.