Commercial Real Estate Briefs

By Business Observer Staff
| 6:00 p.m. October 5, 2007
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Charlotte–Lee–Collier

LEE-COLLIER

Songy Partners drops

D'Jamoos at The Forum

BUYER: Forum Office Park I LLC (principal: Songy Forum Office Associates LLC), Fort Myers

SELLER: Forum II LLC

PROPERTY: 9150 Forum Corporate Parkway, Fort Myers

PRICE: $4.73 million

LAW FIRM ON DEED: King & Spalding LLP, Atlanta

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: Atlanta-based Songy Partners Limited has shed its partnership with Naples-based developer The D'Jamoos Group for the development of a portion of The Forum development at State Road 82 and Colonial Boulevard in Fort Myers.

As part of the divesture and positioning itself for $29 million in development financing loan from Merrill Lynch Capital, Songy Partners transferred property from Forum II LLC to Forum Office Park I LLC. The company is planning to develop a seven-building, 475,000-square-foot professional office complex called Forum Corporate Park.

Construction began in May on the company's first structure, a 60,000-square-foot, three-story building.

"We're planning to deliver that by February 2008." says Robert Brooks, Florida regional director for Songy Partners "We'll break ground on the next one, an 80,000-square-foot building, in February as well. We're planning at this point to sell off buildings four, five and seven."

The general contractor for the first building is Owen-Ames-Kimball Co. The second building is currently out for bid. Atlanta-based architect Cooper Carry Inc. designed the park, and Johnson Engineering is the civil engineer.

Rasmussen College Inc. recently signed a 10-year lease with Songy Partners to occupy 18,500 square feet in the first building.

JMP Farms LLC buys High Cotton properties

BUYER: JMP Farms LLC (principals: Brian and Jeanne Penner), Naples

SELLER: Laro Enterprises Inc.

PROPERTY: $1.625 million

PRICE: 9009 and 9019 High Cotton Lane, Fort Myers

PREVIOUS PRICE: 92,000, November 2001

LAW FIRM ON DEED: Jennifer D. Leal, Miami

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: Brian Penner, vice president of Mitchell & Stark Construction Co. Inc., and his wife Jeanne Penner purchased a 9,734-square-foot flex building on a portion of an acre and an additional fenced-in 1.07-acre vacant lot north of the intersection of State Road 82 and Ortiz Avenue for $1.625 million.

Nathan Sheppard of Gates D'Alessandro & Woodyard handled both sides of the transaction. The flex building featured 1,300 square feet of office space and eight overhead doors.

"It was a pretty unique piece," Sheppard says. "It is virtually impossible to find warehouse space with outdoor storage. Because of the way the market is, owners try to squeeze as much building as they can on to the site. There's hardly any parking and practically zero outdoor storage. This has that storage plus it has easy access to the Interstate [off State Road 82]."

Space Box Storage

builds facility

BUYER: Spacebox North Fort Myers LLC (principals: Bennett and John York and Paige York-Losee), Hattiesburg, Miss.

SELLER: Outback Storage Perris LLC

PROPERTY: 14251 N. Cleveland Ave., North Fort Myers

PRICE: $1.2 million

PREVIOUS PRICE: $1.6 million, September 2005

LAW FIRM ON DEED: Carver Darden Koretzky Tessier Finn Blossman & Areaux LLC, Pensacola

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: Space Box Storage, a division of Hattiesburg, Miss.-based self-storage development company York Developments, transferred 4.75 acres it owned under the Outback Storage Co. name to its Space Box division just as its kicked off site work for a new Space Box self-storage facility and retail site in North Fort Myers.

"This will be one of our new flagship Space Box facilities," says Paige York, vice president of York Developments' storage division. "We've got a new image and new cutting edge architectural design."

Along with the more typical climatized and unclimatized storage elements, the Space Box brand incorporates 2,000 square feet of retail space/office center space.

"Instead of the dusty boxes and wrapping tape we are really expanding our product base to include more unique items, such as shelving and other container-type products," York says. "It will also offer many of the same services as a Fed/Ex Kinkos with copying, faxing and Internet access."

The size of the new facility was unavailable prior to press time, but York says it will be more than 100,000 square feet. Construction on the facility will likely take six to nine months.

Space Box facilities are also planned for Interstate 4 and McIntosh just outside of Tampa and Palmetto.

York Developments presently owns and operates more than a million square feet of self-storage space. At the same time, the company has another million square feet of space in various stages of development in Florida and Hawaii.

Spacebox North Fort Myers mortgaged the property to Capmark Bank for $8.45 million.

Etc...

• Texwood Industries LP leased 2,400 square feet of industrial space located at 5751 Halifax Avenue, in Fort Myers from Halifax Fle, LLC. Derek Bornhorst and Mary Pepin, both of CB Richard Ellis Fort Myers-Naples, negotiated the transaction.

• MJO Builders LLC has leased 3,086 square feet of industrial space in Veronica Business Park at 4331 Veronica S. Shoemaker Blvd., in Fort Myers from Veronica Business Park LLC. Bob Johnston, Jerry Messonnier and Derek Bornhorst, all of CB Richard Ellis Fort Myers-Naples, negotiated the transaction.

• Brooks & Freund has begun construction on condominium offices at Borgata Square, a Class-A office building at the intersection of Interstate 75 and Immokalee Road. The three-story 28,485-square-foot building will feature 24 office suites, ranging in size from 695 to 1,256 square feet. Construction is scheduled for completion in February.

• Fort Myers-based McGarvey Development has completed construction of the first of four office buildings at the Mid Cape Corporate Center, an office and industrial business park on Pine Island Road in Cape Coral. The three-story building has 68,655 square feet of office space with units starting at 2,000 square feet. In addition to the four office buildings, the Mid Cape Corporate Center also includes three flex distribution buildings, totaling 102,000 square feet. McGarvey Development also built the Cape Coral Charter School adjacent to the 30-acre corporate center.

• Dominion Enterprises has renewed its lease of 3,750 square feet of industrial space in Metro Distribution Center at 4040 Warehouse Road in Fort Myers from BLS Holdings LLC. Stan Stouder of CB Richard Ellis Fort Myers-Naples brokered the transaction.

• Klare's Carpet Inc. leased 5,000 square feet of flex space at 16191 San Carlos Blvd. in Fort Myers from Carrolwin LLC. Michael Komar and William Mankin of Colliers Arnold represented the landlord. Mark Delrose of Re/Max Realty Group represented the tenant.

• Bonita Springs-based Heatherwood Construction has begun renovating the amenities at Contessa at Bay Colony. The builder will renovate the existing pool deck, social terrace and porte cochere and add new landscaping and fountains. Bay Colony is a private, 225-acre planned community within Pelican Bay at 8111 Bay Colony Drive. Richard Tindell of JRL Design provided architectural design services. The project is expected to be completed in January.

• Colonial Square Realty has established a Fort Myers presence with the opening of Colonial Square Realty of Fort Myers LLC. Coni Dean a local broker has joined forces with Colonial Square in the new venture. Colonial Square Realty of Fort Myers is a full service real estate company specializing in commercial real estate and property management. The company has a staff of 10. Dean opened her first independent brokerage in 1998, and then expanded, forming Venture Realty and Investments in 2000.

SARASOTA-MANATEE

Hollywood investor group

buys Oneco Square

BUYER: Harwin-Tobin Oneco Square LLC, Hollywood

SELLER: Lighthouse Pointe LLC

PROPERTY: 5108 15th St. E., Bradenton

PRICE: $9.5 million

PREVIOUS PRICE: $3.5 million, June 2000

LAW FIRM ON DEED: Salomon Kanner Damian & Rodriguez PA, Miami

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: Harwin-Tobin Oneco Square LLC, a real estate investment group affiliated with The Ben Tobin Cos. Ltd. in Hollywood, purchased the 128,536-square-foot Oneco Square shopping center at the corner of 15th Street East and State Road 70 in Bradenton for $9.5 million.

The 25-year-old shopping center is anchored by Big Lots, Bealls and Dollar General and also features a Checkers drive-in restaurant.

The seller's agent David Wells, a senior associate and president of the Wells Retail Group of Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Brokerage Co. says the sale set an area record for its low cap rate.

"Oneco Square offers excellent upside potential and has several strong national tenants," Wells said in a press release. "The center is currently 38% vacant and the sale represents a 5.18% capitalization rate, the lowest ever paid for an anchored center in Bradenton. This transaction represents the high demand which still exists for true add-value assets, despite the recent drawback in liquidity in the capital markets."

The sale price equates to $75 a square foot. Harwin-Tobin Oneco Square mortgaged the center to Wells Fargo Bank for $9.15 million.

Absolute Metal Roofing

moves to Sarasota

BUYER: Absolute Holdings of Sarasota LLC (principals: Richard Yoder and Dale DesJardins Jr.), Venice

SELLER: Boxford Warehouses Inc.

PROPERTY: 1974, 1972, 1970, 1968, 1966, 1964, 1962 and 1960 Whitfield Park Ave. Sarasota

PREVIOUS PRICE: $742,500, July 2004

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: D.J. Desjardins Jr.'s Absolute Metal Roofing purchased a 20,000-square-foot warehouse in Whitfield Industrial Park for $1.08 million.

The metal roofing contractor will take about 8,000-square feet in the building, leaving the remainder leased out to several companies. Previously, Absolute Metal Roofing had shared office space with Desjardins' Absolute Aluminum at 1220 Ogden Road in Venice.

"Both companies are growing and need the extra space," Desjardins says. "This will give us room to grow into. We'll gradually take over leases as the tenants leases expire."

The purchaser, Absolute Holdings of Sarasota LLC, mortgaged the property to Colonial Bank for $918,000.

Jeff Button of Richardson Kleiber Walter represented the seller, and Ken Hoskinson of Hembree & Associates represented the buyer.

Former St. Augustine couple acquires Holiday Inn Express

BUYER: Sroka Hospitality Inc. (principals: Grazyna Grad-Sroka and Stanislaw Sroka), St. Augustine

SELLER: OHM Teerth Hotels Inc.

PROPERTY: 648 E. 67th St. Circle, Bradenton

PRICE: $7.2 million

PREVIOUS PRICE: $4.35 million, January 2004

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: Gracy and Stan Sroka's Sroka Hospitality Inc. purchased the 60-room Holiday Inn Express near State Road 64 and Interstate 75 in Bradenton for $7.2 million. The Srokas previously owned a hotel in St. Augustine, but had sold it in favor of replacing it with a Holiday Inn Express branded hotel.

"The former owner had put it up for sale so we decided to buy it and move," Gracy Sroka says. "There are not that many that come up for sale; it's a very good brand."

The couple plans over the next six months to remodel the hotel, including changing the carpets and window treatments, improving the lobby, swimming pool and landscaping, updating the in-hotel WIFI and pay-per-view movie system and painting the exterior.

The Srokas plans to own just the single hotel for the near future, following the philosophy that good hands on management can outperform the typical hospitality market.

Sroka Hospitality Inc. mortgaged the hotel to the Florida Business Development Corp. for $1.99 million and to First National Bank of Arizona for $1.94 million.

Etc...

• The Florida Department of Transportation has postponed a road improvement project at the intersection of Main Street and U.S. 41 in downtown Sarasota. Construction was expected to begin last week and last through December. FDOT cites an unexpected utility conflict in the vicinity as the reason for the delay.

The project was scheduled to include drainage improvements, paving and striping the road, additional signalization and designated left-turn lanes.

• Deerfield Beach-based contractor SIKON Construction Corp. has completed the new multimillion-dollar Broadway Promenade retail center anchored by a 32,502-square-foot Publix Supermarket on North Tamiami Trail in Sarasota. The center also contains a 7,842-square-foot Broadway Bar restaurant building and an additional 5,200 square feet of retail space. Marc Wiener Architecture of Boca Raton designed the project

• Willis A. Smith Construction Inc. has completed a 10,000-square-foot building in North Port for Children First. The building features a reception area, six classrooms for pre-school and a full kitchen. The project began in September of 2006.

• Les Bildy, president of the international software development and training company Codeware Inc., leased 5,040 square feet for the company's new headquarters at 5236 Station Way in the new Clark Station office condominiums in Sarasota from Andrew Lassiter of Lassabria LLC. Bob Brillon of Thomason/Brillon Interests-CountreeWide Realty Inc. negotiated the long-term lease.

• Lennar Homes has awarded J.L. Wallace Inc. a contract to build a clubhouse at River Strand Golf and Country Club in Heritage Harbour on Grand Estuary Trail in Bradenton. The 39,750-square-foot clubhouse will be the focal point of the River Strand development. Plans call for a full-service restaurant and bar, a kitchen, card room, billiard room, golf and tennis pro shops, snack bar, fitness center/aerobics room, locker room and golf cart and bag storage. The project also includes more than 4,000 square feet for a swimming pool, resistance pool and spa. Fawley Bryant Architects Inc. designed the facility.

• Marshall Williams, one of the co-owners of Bruce Williams Homes, the largest locally based homebuilder in Manatee County, has retired. Marshall served as vice president of the corporation and headed the firm's customer service and remodeling divisions for 12 years.

• The Sarasota Architectural Foundation received a $9,700 donation that will be used to promote the preservation of Sarasota's architecture and design. The donation came from Hicham Al-Bochi, owner of a home at 333 Givens St. that was identified as part of Sarasota's Modern movement of the Sarasota School of Architecture during an architectural and historical survey conducted by the Sarasota County History Center in 1997.

• New Bethel International Church Inc. leased 7,100 square feet of multi-use space at 6412 14th St., Bradenton. Anthony Migliore of Coldwell Banker Commercial NRT handled both sides of the transaction.

• Sarasota's 1st Choice Facilities Services has opened a property management and development division, 1st Choice Property Management and Development Co. LLC. Peter T Seems, Jr., Esq, will head the new division.

• Franklin Field, the former site of the first municipal airport in Sarasota, is now the site for a new commercial development.

Located north of Fruitville Road between Tuttle Ave. and North Lockwood Ridge Road on Rhodes Avenue, Franklin Field Business Center features 15 commercial suites. Each suite features two or three offices with a conference room and a reception/waiting room.

MPL Properties was the developer of Franklin Field Business Center. MPL Properties recently purchased the Holiday Inn Express at Siesta Key and is in the permitting process for the Radisson Atrium Hotel at Fruitville Road and Interstate 75.

TAMPA BAY

Dinerstein Cos., Perennial Properties

planning Westshore apartments

BUYER: Tampa Parkland Apartments LP, Houston

SELLER: Cypress Tampa Ltd.

PROPERTY: 4415 W. Main St., Tampa

PRICE: $12.2 million

PREVIOUS PRICE: $2.7 million, July 2004

LAW FIRM ON DEED: Forman & Altino PA, Fort Lauderdale

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: Houston-based The Dinerstein Cos. and Atlanta developer Perennial Properties purchased 5.7 acres of vacant land in the Westshore area north of Interstate 275 and west of the Dale Mabry Highway for $12.2 million. The new ownership plans to develop the land as a four-story 380-unit apartment complex.

T. Sean Lance, Casey Babb and Bill Renje of NAI Tampa Bay handled the transaction.

The former owner Boca Raton-based Parkland Development Corp., had originally planned to develop a condominium project on the site, but the residential market slowdown forced its to change its plans, according to Lance.

"They did all the engineering, zoning and the permitting," he says. "Plus most of the sites in the Westshore area have environmental issues.

Much of it was built on a former landfill for construction debris. So the site work is fairly expensive, it can cost as much as $1.5 million an acre, and they did that cleanup. The site is really turnkey."

Lance expects construction on the apartment complex to begin in the first quarter.

Further, Lance points to two other luxury apartments that successfully became condominiums as one reason for a lessoning in apartment supply in the area. He says there are four other apartment communities planned for the area, however based on the demand he says the area could absorb up to 2,000 units in the next 3-5 years.

The new owners, which went by the legal name of Tampa Parkland Apartments LP, mortgaged the property to CitiBank NA for $9.15 million.

Commercial brokers invest

in Twiggs office building

BUYER: Epre Twiggs LLC, New Port Richey

SELLER: Athena Innovative Solution Inc.

PROPERTY: 601 E Twiggs St., Tampa

PRICE: $1.3 million

PREVIOUS PRICE: $1.43 million, September 2005

TITLE FIRM ON DEED: Title One Services LLC, Tampa

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: Michael Spradling and David Spezza of the New Port Richey-based commercial real estate brokerage Equity Partners Real Estate purchased a four-story, 14,590-square-foot office in downtown Tampa for $1.3 million. The new ownership is trying to sell the vacant building to an owner-occupier or to lease it up, Spradling says. Equity Partners Real Estate has listed the building for $17 a square foot to lease or $3.2 million ($219.33 a square foot) to buy.

Wal-Mart buys land

for Supercenter

BUYER: Wal-Mart Stores East LP, Bentonville, Ark.

SELLER: SNS Tampa Real Estate LLC

PROPERTY: 4302 Gandy Blvd., Tampa

PRICE: $5.35 million

PREVIOUS PRICE: $2.3 million, December 2005

SELLER: JMS LLC

PROPERTY: 5105 S. Lois Ave., Tampa

PRICE: $4.63 million

PREVIOUS PRICE: $775,700, April 2004

SELLER: 4224 Gandy Boulevard Inc.

PROPERTY: 4224 W. Gandy Blvd., Tampa

PRICE: $2.5 million

PREVIOUS PRICE: $300,000, November 1993

SELLER: PDG Properties Inc.

PROPERTY: 5205 S. Lois Ave., Tampa

PRICE: $400,000

PREVIOUS PRICE: $1.38 million, December 2003

SELLER: Lois Venture Ltd. and Lois Venture Inc.

PROPERTY: 4921 S. Lois Ave., Tampa

PRICE: $3.45 million

PREVIOUS PRICE: $690,000, April 1997

LAW FIRM ON DEED: GrayRobinson PA, Tampa

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: Wal-Mart Stores Inc. purchased several warehouse/retail buildings, including a Sticks and Stuff lumber store, on 12.804 acres at the southwest corner of Gandy Boulevard and Lois Avenue for a total of $16.3 million. The retailer plans to develop a Wal-Mart Supercenter on the site, according to Quenta Vettel, Wal-Mart's senior manager of public affairs for Central Florida.

"We submitted plans to the city and the Florida Department of Transportation for a 145,000-square-foot neighborhood Supercenter," Vettel says. "The Supercenter name means that it's going to have groceries in addition to selling general merchandise. It was an ideal site for us because it's in an area in south Tampa where there is not a lot of retail, and we didn't already have a Supercenter nearby."

The retailer has no timetable yet for the redevelopment of the site. The smaller size of the store in comparison to the typical more than 200,000-square-foot Supercenter means it will not have a tire/lube center or a liquor box area.

Wal-Mart is at much the same stage with an even smaller, 107,000-square-foot Supercenter in the Kenwood neighborhood at the northeast corner of U.S. 19 and First Street, St. Petersburg.

"We're looking to go into underserved areas with Supercenters in a variety of sizes," Vettel says.

Etc...

• Pulte Homes has opened the first phase of a new specialized amenity complex at the active-adult Ocala community Stone Creek. The amenity complex, called Reflection Bay, features the 22,630-square-foot Elan Spa, Reunion Center and more than 25 acres of outdoor recreational facilities. The Elan Spa includes a state-of-the art fitness center with cardio and strength equipment, exercise studios, 25-meter indoor pool, massage facilities, steam room, sauna and spa.

• The U.S. Department of Labor has posted a pre-solicitation notice announcing that the agency will begin accepting bids to construct the new Pinellas County Job Corps Center through Nov. 1.

"The estimated cost range for the construction of the Pinellas County Job Corps Center is over $10 million," Pinellas County commissioner Bob Stewart said in a press release. "This represents a significant opportunity for local companies and our economy."

The project involves the construction of the new Job Corps campus in St. Petersburg designed to support the about three hundred students and staff. The campus will include nine buildings for a total 166,000 square feet. The Job Corps Center will be located within the Dome Industrial Park Project at the corner of 5th Avenue South and 22nd Street South.

Plans and specifications are available at the office of Renker Eich Park Associates. A pre-bid walk-through is scheduled for Oct. 11 at 10 a.m. The Pre-solicitation Notice can be found at: http://www.fbo.gov/spg/DOL/OASAM/Washington/DOL079RB20455/SynopsisP.html.

• Chicago-based Capri Development LLC has named commercial real estate brokerage CB Richard Ellis as the exclusive leasing agent for Bloomingdale Palms. The five-acre development project will include 22,000 square feet of retail space, and 12,000 square feet of second-story office space. Construction on Bloomingdale Palms, which is located at the northeast corner of Bloomingdale Avenue and Providence Road, has already started and is slated for completion in the fourth quarter of this year. Bloomingdale Palms will be the first development project for Capri Development in Florida.

• Abbey Adams renewed its lease with Osprey SP Properties for 20,261 square feet of office space in First Central Tower at 360 Central Ave. in St. Petersburg. Russ Sampson of Colliers Arnold represented the tenant, and Wendy Giffen of Osprey SP Properties represented the landlord.

• Presentation Group renewed its lease with CEP CapTrust LLC for 2,675 square feet of office space at 102 W. Whiting St. in Tampa. David Box of Colliers Arnold represented the landlord.

• Cornerstone Cooper Oaks LLC purchased Cooper Oaks Crossing, an 86,175-square-foot neighborhood retail center located at 5405-5435 S. Cooper St. in Arlington, Texas, from Cooper Oaks LP for $11.75 million. Mike Milano of Colliers Arnold, Greg Pierce and David English of Colliers Macaulay Nicolls, and Joe Montgomery and Tony D'Ambrosio of Colliers Spectrum Cauble represented the seller.