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Real Estate Briefs (Sara/Mana edition)
Developer unveils
Bay Street Village
Casey Key developer Henry Rodriguez revealed more details about his proposed New Urban mixed-use development, slated for an about 41-acre site next to his future Wal-Mart Supercenter, east of U.S. 41, south of East Bay St. and west of Old Venice Road in Osprey.
Rodriguez says his Bay Street Village and Town Center, which he previously called Grand Oak Village, will have 60,000 square feet of mainly retail boutiques that would run parallel to Bay Street.
Rodriguez also says the project would include more than 532 residential units in two-, three-, four- and five-story residential buildings. The majority would be town homes and condominiums clustered in the 40-acre development near Old Venice Road in a way that would give residents access to the businesses, nearby churches and post office without forcing them to leave their community.
The Town Center portion of the development would be located in the middle of the commercial space and designed for public gatherings, outdoor musical events and small festivals. Rodriguez says he is offering to give Sarasota County 25,000 square feet for a public library branch.
And what about the architecture? Rodriguez says: "1920s Mediterranean revival."
Rodriguez showed renderings of the frontal design for the proposed library and an aerial layout for the commercial/residential development. The Tampa-based architectural firm of Cooper, Johnson, Smith represented the development.
Rodriguez has filed a request to rezone the land from residential mobile home, RSF-1 (residential single family), RSF-2 and open-use estate to residential multiple family/planned unit development, which allows 13 units per acre.
The application also includes a request to re-designate the medium density residential areas of Bay Street Village to high density residential and to amend the Osprey Revitalization Plan.
Jack Wilhelm of the county's planning services department says Rodriguez would submit site plans to the county once the rezone is approved.
The rezone is slated to take between seven and eight months.
In addition to the dwelling units, the development includes a 64,000-square-foot common area that surrounds the Town Center, as well as an additional 25,000 square feet on the north side of the Town Center that is designed for civic, commercial or residential development. The civic area will be offered to Sarasota County as a site for a public library. The Village will consist of 34% open space, including the Town Center, landscaped areas, buffers and storm-water retention ponds.
In other related news, Isaac Brownman, a professional engineer with Sarasota County, says the county is waiting on a few state permits, including one from the Florida Department of Transportation, before it can issue a building permit for the planned Wal-Mart.
The delay in construction can be attributed to conditions the county set and which Wal-Mart agreed to meet.
The initial conditions dealt mainly with improvements to U.S. 41, including installation of a new traffic light near the post office, deceleration lanes to ease entry and exit from Wal-Mart and surrounding side streets and a new connector road between the post office and retail site. Wal-Mart agreed to underwrite the improvements.
But according to county records, since January, Sarasota County officials added nearly 30 new conditions that had to be met prior to final approval. Some of the conditions were the installation of sidewalks on the west side of U.S. 41 between Hidden Bay south to the Bay Acres subdivision, a bus stop in front of the Supercenter on U.S. 41 and two additional turn lanes in both directions on U.S. 41. Wal-Mart is assuming the costs of these improvements and paying $1.8 million to the county in impact fees.
If ground is broken in October, Wal-Mart officials plan to open the store in May 2005.
Benderson development
buys Lee County land
Sarasota-based Benderson Development purchased 230 acres in Lee County on Colonial Boulevard between Interstate 75 and Ben C. Pratt Six Mile Cypress Parkway from Waterman Development for $53 million. Benderson Development plans to build 1,000 residential units as well as 1 million square feet of commercial space. Jerry Petersen, a commercial real estate adviser with Fort Myers-based VIP Commercial, represented the seller in this transaction.
White & Associates buys
Park Vista to renovate
Atlanta-based White & Associates, a real estate marketing, management and development firm, purchased the 108-unit Park Vista Apartments at 900 La Costa Circle, Sarasota, from Park Vista Apartments Inc. for $6.75 million.
"We have been trying to expand from the Atlanta area for a while now," says Carter Simmons, partner. "We have been looking at Tampa, Clearwater and Sarasota as a very appealing market. What attracted us to Park Vista was the combination of the appeal of Sarasota, the downtown location and the opportunity to add value. The buildings were built in the '70s and are in need of significant updates."
Simmons says White & Associates plans to spend several million dollars to renovate the exterior and interior. The existing clubhouse is going to be razed and a modern clubhouse will be built on the site. All of the units' interiors will be gutted and replaced with new appliances, plumbing and finishings. The renovation will also include landscape improvements.
"It's going to improve the property value and increase the profile," Simmons says. "Rents are going to go up, but I think it will largely appeal to the same market. We are actively looking at other acquisitions and development opportunities in the Sarasota market."
The apartment complex will be renamed Park View Apartments.
White & Associates owns several apartment complexes in Atlanta and one in Chattanooga, Tenn., and plans to close on land in the Channelside section of Tampa this week.
White & Associates mortgaged the property to Park View of Florida Inc. for $10.8 million.
Tampa business group buys
Manatee Mobile Home Park
Tampa's Manatee MHP Inc. purchased the Manatee Mobile Home Park, at 2204 Manatee Ave. E., Bradenton, from Manatee Associates Ltd. for $3.65 million.
"We are willing to work to turn this around," says Jay Nault, president of Manatee MHP Inc. "The park really suffers from a lot of deferred maintenance, and a third of the lots in the park have been left vacant. We are going to be making major changes probably in the next 30 to 90 days."
Nault plans to have the management company, Gulf Atlantic Asset Management, change the landscaping, renovate the pool and common area and address the long-standing sewer problems. The management company will also clean up and resell about 40 abandoned homes in the park.
"There are about 312 lots in the park, but I would say that only about 210 are occupied," Nault says. "An additional 60 lots are vacant. We are going to work on the areas that are visible to residents and potential residents right away - things like improving the shuffleboard court. We know this is a park with problems, but we know how to solve them. We also are anticipating no rent increases. We expect to get our return to cover the work from filling the park up. By making it a nicer place to live. No one wants a vacant lot next to them."
Nault is part of partnership groups that own 22 mobile home parks in Pinellas, Pasco, Polk, Volusia, Hillsborough, Duval and Lee counties.
Weston company buys
land near Lakewood Ranch
Weston-based Group Commercial purchased several acres on the northeast corner of Interstate 75 and University Parkway from Colonial Realty Ltd. Partnership for $3.75 million. Group Commercial plans to develop an 180,000-square-foot multibuilding office condominium development on the site. The development will feature six two-story buildings, four one-story buildings and a large 50,000-square-foot office building. Albert Myara, a commercial broker for Re/Max Properties, is the local co-listing broker for the office condominiums. The purchase price is $150 a square foot.
First Watch opens
two more restaurants
Lakewood Ranch-based First Watch Restaurant has opened its 51st and 52nd restaurants in the Midwest. Last month, the restaurant chain opened a restaurant in the Crackerneck Plaza, 19321 East Highway 40 in Independence, Mo., that was followed up this past week by the opening of a new restaurant in the Union Place, 6355 Centre Park Drive in West Chester, Ohio. Crackerneck Plaza, which was the chain's 51st store, was its seventh restaurant in Missouri. The 3,600-square-foot location seats 125 and has approximately 30 employees.
The Union Place is the seventh First Watch in the greater Cincinnati area and its 15th in Ohio. First Watch is the country's largest privately held, daytime-only restaurant company with locations in Arizona, California, Kansas, Kentucky, Florida, Ohio, Oklahoma, Missouri, and West Virginia.
Father, son buy
Cortez convenience store
Jitendra Patel and his son, Yogesh, purchased the Palma Sola Discount convenience store at 8530 Cortez Road W., Bradenton, from Seven Stores Ltd. for $375,000.
In the near term, the Patels have no immediate plans to make changes, though gas pumps will be added within the next year.
"There is a lot of development going on in Palma Sola Boulevard," Yogesh Patel says. "A lot of condo and townhouse properties are being built there."
The Patels, who used the corporate identity of Universal LLC, mortgaged the Cortez Road property to United Bank & Trust Co. for $290,000.
Island Fitness owner
buys Westbay club
John Belsito's TGS Investments LLC purchased the 30,000-square-foot Westbay Athletic Club, at 6500 Manatee Ave. W., Bradenton, from Harbor Equities Inc. for $740,000. Belsito owns the Island Fitness & Physical Therapy, at 5317 Gulf Drive, Holmes Beach.
"We are undergoing major renovations," says Steven Brattli, sales manager for Westbay Athletic, which has been renamed Genesis Health and Racquet. "We are changing a lot of the equipment and repainting the interior. Our goal is to restore it to a youthful look."
The estimated cost of the renovations is about $1 million.
The Manatee Avenue athletic center has also added a full-pace circuit training studio, a spray-tan store and a full-time physical therapist. Memberships will be reciprocal between both of Belsito's fitness clubs.
Asked about the significance of the new name, Brattli, says the new owner thought it best represented the club's new beginning.
Etc ...
× Branson Corp. has leased 4,000 square feet of commercial space at 7222 S. Tamiami Trail to Upright Imaging LLC. Barry Seidel of American Property Group of Sarasota Inc. handled the transaction.
× Attorney John Lawson has leased about 650 square feet of professional office space for his legal practice at the eXecutive center at Palmer Ranch in Sarasota. Robert Brillon and Lyn Bloink of Michael Seery & Associates Inc. negotiated the lease.
× Jeff Rand of Premier Mortgage Funding Inc. has leased about 650 square feet of office space as a branch lending operation at the eXecutive center at Palmer Ranch in Sarasota. Robert Brillon and Lyn Bloink of Michael Seery & Associates Inc. negotiated the lease.
× Fran Routt, a children and family therapist, has leased 650 square feet of office space at the eXecutive center at Palmer Ranch in Sarasota. Robert Brillon and Lyn Bloink of Michael Seery & Associates Inc. negotiated the lease.
× Bill Kleiber of Richardson Kleiber Walter and his wife, Kathleen Kleiber, purchased a 10,356-square-foot warehouse at 1090 Commerce Blvd. N. in University Park of Commerce from Federal Warehouse Corp. #4 for $567,000. The property is fully occupied by a single tenant.
× Whitehall Homes received six new building permits for The Moorings at Edgewater Village development in Lakewood Ranch. The development, which is designed as 72 Lake Carriage Homes and 64 Park Carriage Homes along the western shore of Lake Uihlein, is currently sold out. One of the buildings was estimated at $12 million, two at $519,000, one at $505,360 and the final two at $410,000.
× Pesco Amoco LLC has sold the business interest in a convenience store and car wash at 4949 S. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota, to Stephan-Ann Inc. for $149,000. The sale did not include the property. Igor Davidovich of American Property Group of Sarasota Inc. represented both sides.
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