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Commercial Real Estate Briefs
by Sean Roth | Real Estate Editor
LEE-COLLIER
Davie investors develop Merchant Crossing
BUYER: RM Pine Island OP LLC (Barry Ross and William Matz), Davie
SELLER: SC USA Pine Island 1 LLC
PROPERTY: 3011 and 3021 N.E. Pine Island Road, North For Myers
PRICE: $1.071 million
PREVIOUS PRICE: $515,000, January 2005 and $625,000, October 2005
LAW FIRM ON DEED: Adorno & Yoss LLP, Fort Lauderdale
PLANS, DESCRIPTION: An investment group managed by Davie-based Ross Realty Investments Inc. purchased two vacant outparcels in Merchants Crossing shopping center in Cape Coral near the intersection of U.S. 41 and Pine Island Road for $1.07 million.
The developer plans to construct the eastern parcel as a bank branch with a drive-through and the western parcel as a freestanding retail building. LM Development Group of Davie will be the general contractor and is also designing the buildings.
"We'll probably start construction there next quarter," says Matthew Harris, vice president of sales and marketing for Ross Realty Investments. "We're in discussion right now with a number of national retailers. The response has been really good."
The investment group mortgaged the vacant property to Wachovia Bank NA for $500,000.
Founded in 1978 by Barry Ross, Ross Realty Investments specializes in acquiring, developing or redeveloping and managing retail centers.
Trenton developers, investors
buy Joey's Pizza, Pasta building
BUYER: Good Naples LLC (principal: Daniel Goodman), Trenton, N.J.
SELLER: Slice of Pie Inc.
PROPERTY: 2448 Pine Ridge Road, Naples
PRICE: $2.85 million
PREVIOUS PRICE: $1.65 million, September 2004
LAW FIRM ON DEED: Rhodes Tucker and Garretson, Marco Island
PLANS, DESCRIPTION: Members of the Trenton, N.J.-based developer The Eagle Group - including Dan Goodman, the Hofing family, and other individual investors - have formed an investment entity and purchased the 6,100-square-foot restaurant building that houses Joey's Pizza and Pasta House at the corner of Pine Ridge and Airport-Pulling roads for $2.85 million.
An official with The Eagle Group who spoke on behalf of Goodman, said the group wanted to invest in the property because of the restaurant acumen of Joey and Doreen Oliverio, owners of Joey's Pizza and Pasta House and the former property owners. The Oliverios will continue to operate the restaurant and bar and a sister location on Marco Island.
The Eagle Group Inc. develops and owns retail - primarily shopping centers - and other commercial space.
The investors, which used the identity of Good Naples LLC for the purchase, mortgaged the site to Yardville National Bank for $2.14 million.
Paradise Group develops Naples Walgreens
BUYER: Win-Golden Gate Ltd. (principals: Michael Connor, George Kidman, Robert Forlizzo, Michael Wagner, Spiro Comitos and M. Bridget Blake), Safety Harbor
SELLER: Goodwill Industries of Southwest Florida Inc.
PROPERTY: 4747 Golden Gate Parkway, Naples
PRICE: $4.69 million
PREVIOUS PRICE: $725,000, November 1998
LAW FIRM ON DEED: Forlizzo Law Group PA, Safety Harbor
PLANS, DESCRIPTION: Safety Harbor-based retail developer The Paradise Group purchased a 3,700-square-foot former Goodwill Industries building on 1.5 acres on Golden Gate Parkway for $4.69 million. The developer plans to demolish the existing structure and build a 14,820-square-foot Walgreens drug store.
The new ownership hopes to start demolition in January and vertical construction will likely start in February, according to Bob Brett, site acquisition manager for The Paradise Group. He expects the store to open toward the middle of 2008.
"What we like about that area is that there's a lack of pharmacies in that market," Brett says. "Golden Gate is also a very highly trafficked area."
The Paradise Group's purchase entity, Win-Golden Gate Ltd., mortgaged the property to Regions Bank for $8.17 million.
Etc...
• ADSystems Inc. is nearing completion on its new Panther Center headquarters building on Global Parkway in Southwest International Commerce Park. ADSystems will occupy 14,000 square feet in the building and Lamar Outdoor Advertising will occupy an additional 10,000 square feet. Another 13,000 square feet is also being offered for lease. Panther Center will also include a 52,000-square-foot dock-high distribution facility. The building is scheduled for completion in January.
• Cart Masters has leased 2,790 square feet at 26300 Bernwood Drive, Suite 6 in Bonita Springs from Bonita Springs-Estero Association of Realtors Inc. Mary Pepin, Bob Johnston and Jerry Messonnier, all of CB Richard Ellis, Fort Myers-Naples represented the tenant, and Dave Wallace of Premier Properties of Southwest Florida Inc. represented the landlord.
• Bonita Spring-based Heatherwood Construction Co. has been awarded a contract to build Southwest Florida's Diamond District, a diamond and jewelry retail store, at 7995 Plaza Del Lago Drive in the Coconut Point Mall in Estero. Groundbreaking on the 6,169-square-foot store is scheduled to start Jan. 1. The freestanding building will feature a showroom, mezzanine and office space. The building is slate for completion in June.
McHarris Planning & Design of Bonita Springs is the architect.
• Nu-Cape Construction Co., a division of Owen-Ames-Kimball Co., has completed construction of the new Parker Commons office location for Cardiology Consultants of Southwest Florida. The one-story, 9,075-square-foot building has a patient waiting area, eight exam rooms, a nurse's station, physician offices, lab and areas for procedures and cardiac testing.
• Southwest Florida Neurosurgical and Rehab & Pain Management Associates has opened a new three-story Cape Coral center to treat arm, leg and back pain caused by spinal problems. The new facility is north of the Cape Coral Hospital at 632 Del Prado Blvd., N, south of Pine Island Road.
The 27,000-square-foot building houses the group's neurosurgeons on the first floor and pain management and therapy services on the second floor.
SARASOTA-MANATEE
Germain Toyota Clark Road buys land
BUYER: Germain Real Estate Co. LLC (principals: Robert Germain Jr., Stephen Germain and Sean McCarthy), Columbus, Ohio
SELLER: SRH Hunt Inc.
PROPERTY: a portion of Clark Road, Sarasota
PRICE: $11.86 million
PREVIOUS PRICE: $29.49 million, December 1996 (included additional property)
LAW FIRM ON DEED: Treiser Collins & Vernon, Naples
PLANS, DESCRIPTION: Columbus, Ohio-based Germain Automotive Group acquired 29 acres in the 5000 block of Clark Road in Palmer Ranch near Norman's Liquor Beer & Fine Wine, the Southpointe BMW dealership and Starbucks for $11.86 million.
The company has been working through the permitting process to develop a dealership office on the site to relocate its Germain Toyota of Sarasota dealership, which is currently situated south of Clark Road on U.S. 41.
"We're hoping to get started there in the first quarter of next year," says David Bertoncini, general sales manager.
The dealership is shooting to open the new location around the second quarter of 2009. Bertoncini says the dealership is still uncertain about the future of the current Toyota property.
"It's a leased site that we have through 2010," he says "We might keep it as a used car center."
General manager Kevin Ichter previously told The South Sarasota Observer the location is expected to cost the company somewhere in the range of $20 million. The dealership mortgaged the site to JPMorgan Chase Bank for $12 million.
Grocery giant Publix
buys University Walk parcel
BUYER: University Walk Outparcel Sarasota LLC, Lakeland
SELLER: NAP University Walk O/P LLC
PROPERTY: 2805, 2807 and 2809 University Parkway, Sarasota
PRICE: $3.27 million
PREVIOUS PRICE: $1.06 million, June 2003
LAW FIRM ON DEED: Graydon Head & Ritchey LLP, Cincinnati
PLANS, DESCRIPTION: After it bought the 85,115-square-foot University Walk Shopping center in late July, Lakeland-based Publix Super Markets Inc. acquired a nearby outparcel strip center 2805 to 2809 University Parkway for $3.27 million.
The real estate research firm CoStar Group reports the 14,953-square-foot strip center currently houses Manpower, Starbucks and Wireless Toyz.
At the time of its original purchase by Publix, University Walk featured a Publix store, Prudential Palms Realty, Parkway Cleaners, University Park Floors, The UPS Store, Melissa H. Hammond OD PA, Wendy's Nail and Spa, China Taste, Panera Bread, Hendrick's Diamond Superstore and Janet's Hallmark.
Palmetto shop owners
acquire U.S. 301 building
BUYER: Dennis and Betty Dick, Palmetto
SELLER: Diane Johnson, Dan and Aaron Young as successor co-trustee of the Earl R. Young Land Trust
PROPERTY: 1250 N. U.S. 301, Palmetto
PRICE: $1.23 million
PREVIOUS PRICE: $250,000, March 1996 and $115,000, April 1996
TITLE FIRM ON DEED: Sunbelt Title Agency, Bradenton
PLANS, DESCRIPTION: Dennis and Betty Dick, owners of Emiline's Antique Mall in Moorhead Commercial Business Park, purchased the 18,000-square-foot antique strip mall, which houses their business, for $1.23 million.
"We've been leasing here for eight years," Dennis Dick says. "The owner passed away two years ago, and the family just put the property up for sale. We just felt it made sense for the future of the business."
Dick says his business occupies roughly half of the space, and Magnolia Antique Mall takes the remainder of the space.
The Dick family mortgaged the property to Lehman Brothers Bank FSB for $960,000.
Jacksonville Bank acquires DQ branch
BUYER: Bank of North Florida, Jacksonville
SELLER: SW Florida Restaurant Holdings LLC
PROPERTY: 3704 84th Ave. Circle E. and 8473 37th St. E., Sarasota
PRICE: $2.4 million
PREVIOUS PRICE: $905,000, November 2003
PLANS, DESCRIPTION: Jacksonville-based Bank of North Florida, which is owned by Tampa's Florida Bank Group, acquired the 4,800-square-foot former DQ Grill & Chill fast-food restaurant on University Parkway for $2.4 million.
The bank is currently working with its architects and engineers to reconfigure the building as a bank branch site, according to Mike Worthington with Florida Bank Group Inc. As for which bank will occupy the branch, Worthington isn't saying.
"I can't really be too forthcoming because of regulatory issues," he says. "We think we can make [the building] work for us. It's in a good, growing area. It's a great central location. You have a straight shot to the airport...and its close to many of the industrial areas of town. I'm hoping we can make an announcement in the next three to four weeks."
The bank hopes to have the renovations completed by the second quarter of 2008.
Worthington was formerly Sarasota County division president for First State Bank. Florida Bank Group Inc. also owns Bank of St. Petersburg, Florida Bank Jacksonville and Bank of Tallahassee, but none of the community banks have branches in Manatee or Sarasota counties.
Ian Black and Steve Horn of Ian Black Real Estate represented the seller, and Cheri O'Neil of Studley in Tampa represented the buyer.
TAMPAY BAY
Aldi buys site, plans eight in Tampa
BUYER: Aldi Florida LLC (Aldi Inc.), Batavia, Ill.
SELLER: HUD Twenty-two LLC
PROPERTY: 9001 U.S. 19 N.
PRICE: $1.55 million
PREVIOUS PRICE: $4.6 million, September 2006
PLANS, DESCRIPTION: Batavia, Ill.-based Aldi USA purchased a vacant site on U.S. 19 in Pinellas County for $1.55 million as part of its expansion into Florida.
The discount grocer plans to start construction on a 16,000-square-foot grocery store there in early 2008.
"We're planning to open several stores in Tampa and Orlando right around the fall of 2008," says David Behm, vice president of Orlando division of Aldi Foods. "This is going to be our standalone prototype. Aldi's builds smaller stores so we can't carry a full line of groceries, but we carry the items most people purchase on a weekly basis. Because we have lower costs, we find that most people can save 30 to 50% over what they would pay at a typical grocery store."
Behm says Aldi has eight stores planned in the near-term for the Tampa/Pinellas Park area. Eventually the international grocer hopes to have 20 stores each on the West Coast of Florida and in the Orlando area.
"Eventually we will be looking to expand outside of Tampa," he says. "We're probably looking at 2009 for Sarasota/Bradenton. (Collier and Lee counties) are not on the short-term target list right now."
Aldi's Florida expansion plans were driven by population density and the number of former Northerners, who are already familiar with the brand.
Aldi's Web site says the company has 850 stores in the United States, and its listed as the 24th largest grocery chain in terms of gross sales.
New owners buy
Payless Car Sales
BUYER: 6903 Dale Mabry LLC (principal: Jeffrey Congdon), Indianapolis
SELLER: Robert J. Antionette, Trustee
PROPERTY: 6903 N. Dale Mabry Highway, Tampa
PRICE: $1.35 million
PREVIOUS PRICE: $350,000, December 1986
LAW FIRM ON DEED: Neil S. Schecht PA, Tampa
PLANS, DESCRIPTION: An investment group owned by Indianapolis businessman Jeff Congdon purchased the property housing Payless Car Sales in Tampa for $1.35 million.
The site and building acquisition followed the business and assets sale of Payless to Jabill Inc., a partnership of Congdon, Bill Kutschera and former Payless Car Sales sales manager Jason Blake.
After a seven-year hiatus, Kutschera says he was itching to get back into the automotive industry.
"I have about 37 years in the car business," he says. "So when I mentioned I was getting restless and wanted to do something Jeff [Congdon] said he had heard that Payless Car Sales was for sale. The quality of the inventory when I first arrived there in July was second to none."
The new ownership has retained the previous staff and is considering how best to grow the dealership. Kutschera plans to expand the volume of the dealership's inventory, add to the sales force, increase its marketing and renovate and modernize the lot and 1,600-square-foot sales/administrative office building.
"There are definitely limitations as far as space, but we're planning to pave some of the areas that haven't been paved," Kutschera says. "We'll add new signage and improved lighting. We're going to gut the main building and make it a very attractive facility."
Kutschera hopes to have the facility's renovation completed by June.
Congdon's purchase entity 6903 Dale Mabry LLC mortgaged the property to Fifth Third Bank for $1.04 million.
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