Commercial Real Estate Briefs

By Business Observer Staff
| 6:00 p.m. November 29, 2007
| 2 Free Articles Remaining!

Charlotte–Lee–Collier

by Sean Roth | Real Estate Editor

LEE-COLLIER

Naples investors develop Holiday Inn

BUYER: Alico Lodging LLC (principal; James Field), Naples

SELLER: Southwest Florida Investment Group LLC

PROPERTY: northeast quadrant Alico Road near Interstate 75, Fort Myers

PRICE: $2.74 million

TITLE FIRM ON DEED: Midwest Title Guarantee Co. of Florida LLC, Naples

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: A Naples investment group, made up of 20-20 Worldwide Hospitality LLC, Investors Development Services and The Fitzgerald Family Real Estate Group, purchased about 3.5 acres on Alico Road near the Florida Gulf Coast Town Center and a Coca-Cola Bottling Plant for $2.7 million.

The partners plan to develop the site as a full-service, 170-room Holiday Inn, according to Jim Field with Investors Development Services and the managing member of the purchase group.

"More than anything we were interested in this site because of the exposure," Field says. "We're across from the mall. We're near the university. There's a huge amount of office and light industrial [planned for] Treeline Road."

The owners decided to develop a full-service hotel, Field says, because of the growing dearth of full-service facilities and meeting space in the Fort Myers market.

"From Sanibel or Coconut Point there are really no meeting facilities besides the Harborside [Event Center] in Lee County," Field says. "We're going to have 6,000 square feet, including a ballroom. We'll also have a restaurant - although it will be relatively small...We will have a kitchen for banquets.

Pinkerton and Laws Inc. is the general contractor. Construction started about a month ago and completion of the hotel is scheduled for December 2008.

The new ownership, officially known as Alico Lodging LLC, mortgaged the site to Branch Banking and Trust Co. for $15.5 million.

Wolf & Pravato moves,

acquires Colonial location

BUYER: Wolf & Pravato Enterprises LLC (principals: Valya Wolf and Richard and Vincent Pravato), Fort Lauderdale

SELLER: Randall E. Beaver

PROPERTY: 1825 Colonial Blvd., Fort Myers

PRICE: $1.1 million

PREVIOUS PRICE: $112,500, September 2002

LAW FIRM ON DEED: The Doragh Law Firm PL, Fort Myers

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: Fort Lauderdale-based personal injury law firm Wolf & Pravato purchased a 4,928-square-foot, two-story office on Colonial Boulevard for $1.1 million. The practice currently maintains an office at 2222 Second St. in Fort Myers.

"It is certainly a bigger location for us, and it offers the opportunity to rent out the extra space," says Meg Gallo, accountant for Wolf & Pravato. "They also liked the location. It had a large sign, and it looked to be a good deal."

Gallo expects the law firm to rent out the top about 2,500-square-foot floor.

Wolf & Pravato Enterprises LLC mortgaged the property to Colonial Bank NA for $990,000.

Kevin Rosenthal, Alex Wright and Robyn Wright of Gates D'Alessandro & Woodyard Realtors negotiated the transaction.

Naples' Classroom Plus

moves to Goodlette

BUYER: JECT Properties LLC (principals: Jeffrey and Cynthia Maroon), Naples

SELLER: SFT Properties LLC

PROPERTY: 650-660 Goodlette Road N., Naples

PRICE: $1.24 million

PREVIOUS PRICE: $1.1 million, May 2005

TITLE FIRM ON DEED: Midwest Title Guarantee Co. of Florida LLC, Naples

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: Jeffrey and Cynthia Maroon purchased a 7,200-square-foot retail building on Goodlette Road near Fifth Avenue North in Naples for $1.24 million.

The building is being renovated to serve as the new headquarters for the Maroon's educational material and teacher supply store Classroom Plus, which is currently housed in a leased location at 1575 Pine Ridge Road in Naples.

"It's only about four miles away (from our current location), but its about three times the size," Jeff Maroon says. "We needed to grow. We've seen a lot of new materials come on the market the past few years. Our business seems to be stable."

Maroon expects that based on the company's current growth rate the new building will be able to accommodate its needs for the next 10 to 15 years.

JECT Properties LLC mortgaged the property to Bank of Naples for $988,000.

St. Louis hotelier buys Fort Myers hotel

BUYER: Roberts Hotels Fort Myers LLC (Steven and Michael Roberts), St. Louis

SELLER: V-B1 LP

PROPERTY: 9200 College Parkway, Fort Myers

PRICE: $6.23 million

PREVIOUS PRICE: $446,000, December 1998

LAW FIRM ON DEED: Armstrong Teasdale LLP, St. Louis

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: St. Louis-based Roberts Cos. purchased the 100-room Best Western hotel in Fort Myers for $6.23 million. The Roberts Cos., which also owns TV and radio stations, telecommunications towers and shopping centers, targets undervalued hotel properties.

"Undervalued doesn't mean troubled," says Michael Roberts, co-owner of the Roberts Cos. "This property was actually really quite nice. (The former owners) did some recent renovations. I think this (sale) was more of a personal issue. Maybe the owners ran out of money or something like that. It's in a great location at the entrance to Sanibel Island. There are also a number of medical facilities nearby. I like that area a lot."

Roberts plans to bring in his company's hospitality management division, Roberts Hotel Management Group, to evaluate the property's entire staff and current management systems. The new owner is also considering a brand change that would likely involve converting it a Comfort Inn and Suites.

The Roberts Cos. owns hotels in Atlanta; Memphis; Shreveport, La.; Spartanburg, S.C.; and St. Louis.

Etc...

• Fort Myers-based Community Engineering Services, Inc. has opened its Tampa office at 8875 Hidden River Parkway, Suite 300. It's the third CES office to open in Florida. The Tampa office will offer civil engineering and surveying services including hydrographic surveying services.

• Remodeling Solutions by Frey, the remodeling sister company of Frey & Son Homes, has opened a 2,600-square-foot design showroom at 9696 Bonita Beach Road, Suite 100, Bonita Springs.

• Home Mortgages Company leased 3,270 square feet of retail space in the Shoppes at Plantation at 6810 Shoppes at Plantation Drive, Fort Myers from Morris, Smith & Feyh Inc. Karl T. Lippek of Colliers Arnold negotiated the transaction.

• Core Construction Services Southeast Inc. has been awarded a $1.6 million contract to build a three-story, 13,476 square foot office building in the Gateway Professional Center at 515 Bald Eagle Drive on Marco Island. JJM and Associates of Marco Island awarded the contract, and Boughton Architects designed the office building. Core Construction expects to start building the facility in December for a summer completion.

• Twenty Twenty Hospitality has purchased 3.29 acres in Alico Lakes at the northeast corner of Alico Road and Interstate 75 in Fort Myers from Strathmore Development for $2.34 million. Al Molin and Gary Dewey, both of CB Richard Ellis Fort Myers-Naples represented the buyer, and Strathmore Development represented the seller.

• The City of Cape Coral has redesigned its Economic Development Web site (www.bizcapecoral.com) and launched a new tool to help users find commercial land and buildings. The site's CapeCoralProspector uses Geographic Information System technology and will allow users to produce tailored business and workforce information, maps and demographics of Cape Coral.

Property owners and real estate professionals can include data about their available space for any commercial projects, including those that have been permitted. Owners and real estate professionals can add data on properties for free after registering at www.bizcapecoralis.com.

"We encourage anyone with a property for sale or lease to enter data on their projects so it's available for users," Cape Coral Economic Development Director Mike Jackson, said in a press release. "The more data added, the more valuable the service. It's a win-win for the buyer and the seller."

CapeCoralProspector was created by California-based GIS Planning.

• The Lincoln National Life Insurance Co. leased 2,384 square feet of office space in the Fifth Third Center at 999 Vanderbilt Beach Road in Naples from Larson Allen LLP. Tim Tillapaugh of CB Richard Ellis Fort Myers-Naples represented the landlord, and Kim Colquitt of the Staubach Co. represented the tenant.

• Port Charlotte-based Obee's Franchise Systems Inc. reported that leasing and contractor agreements have been signed to open the first obee's soups salads & subs restaurant in the Dallas area. Owsen Enterprises Inc. has selected a location in the Heritage Towne Crossing Shopping Center in Euless for its first obee's restaurant. CTS Commercial Builder Inc. of Frisco has been selected as the contractor for the build-out. The new location is expected to open in early January.

• DeAngelis Diamond Construction, Inc. has been awarded the contract for the delivery suite renovation at the Birth Place, NCH North Naples Hospital Campus and the NCH North Naples Hospital Campus - Phase II expansion. The renovation project will affect the Labor and Delivery Department of the NCH North Naples Hospital Campus. It includes the addition of a third C-Section surgical suite and an entirely new recovery room. The project will start later this month.

SARASOTA-MANATEE

SMG buys Lemon, Lime apartments

BUYER: SM-Catalina LLC (principals: John Newsome, Michael Doyle and Fred Cochran), Bradenton

SELLER: Timothy and Deborah Lacey

PROPERTY: 2023 and 2045 Hyde Park St., Sarasota

PRICE: $1.68 million

PREVIOUS PRICE: $1.9 million, May 2005

TITLE FIRM ON DEED: Sun Pinnacle Title of Florida LLC, Bradenton

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: Bradenton-based SMG Development purchased the 20-unit Lemon Tree and Lime Tree apartment complexes on Hyde Park for $1.68 million. The development company plans to convert two units, which were previously used as an office and a maintenance space, back into rental apartments and to rename the entire facility the Catalina Apartments.

"We're planning some exterior and interior renovations," says Davida Hurst, community manager. "We're still looking at the quotes right now to determine exacting what we're going to do. But the buildings were built in 1972, so we will definitely be doing some work. We're considering doing it in an art deco or a South Beach style."

Hurst says the company was mainly attracted to the property because of its location just east of U.S. 41 and a block south of Sarasota Memorial Hospital.

SMG Development focuses primarily on multi-family properties, but also builds retail and office projects.

SMG Development's SM-Catalina LLC mortgaged the property to Northern Trust NA for $3.36 million.

Palmetto Real Estate firm

buys Bradenton flex building

BUYER: 33rd Investments LLC, Palmetto

SELLER: 33rd Street Condos LC

PROPERTY: 3220 E. 59th Drive, units 3A-3P, Bradenton

PRICE: $1.16 million

LAW FIRM ON DEED: Harrison Kirkland Pratt & Chulock PA, Bradenton

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: Palmetto's Interstate Industrial LLC bought a single-story, 14,000-square-foot flex building near the intersection of State Road 70 and 33rd Street East for $1.16 million.

"We're looking to lease them up as individual units," says Peter VanDerNoord of VanDerNoord Realty Corp. and president of Interstate Industrial. "It's in a nice location, and it's a nice looking building. The building has a glass front so it looks less like traditional industrial space."

VanDerNoord is marketing the property for $8 to $8.50 a square foot for the smaller spaces, about 1,750 square feet, with a reduction to about $7 a square foot for users wanting a 8,570-square-foot contagious space.

Interstate Industrial is an industrial real estate holdings company, which owns more than 350,000 square feet of industrial and manufacturing space.

Sarasota investors buy up Cove Cleaners

BUYER: Wahoo Operating LLC (principals: Alan Loring), Sarasota

SELLER: Cove Cleaners Inc.

PROPERTY: 1400 Fruitville Road, Sarasota

PRICE: $2.1 million

PREVIOUS PRICE: $126,000, June 1994

LAW FIRM ON DEED: Betterton Tyler & Gates LLP, Venice

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: A group of Sarasota investors has purchased the business and assets of Cove Cleaners. The acquisition included the sale of a 5,400-square-foot retail building on Fruitville Road for $2.1 million and four other leased locations.

"It's just a very well-run business and an attractive investment," says Alan Loring, managing member. "We're planning to build on the service end while continuing to expand its territory. We'll be expanding our pick up and delivery routes and possibly expanding into more of Manatee County with a new location on State Road 64 or University Parkway near I-75."

Cary Hodous, an investor who ran a similar business in Cleveland for 25 years, will handle the day-to-day operation of the business. Other members of the investment group include David and Patti Wertheimer, Sue Loring, Josh and Lisa Leuchter and Brad and Alisa Cohen.

The new owners mortgaged the Fruitville Road property to Wachovia Bank NA for $1.79 million.

TAMPA BAY

JES Properties buys Ashley Glen land

BUYER: Ashley Glen LLC (JES Properties Inc.), Oldsmar

SELLER: Standard Pacific Tampa

PROPERTY: northeast quadrant of Sate Road 54 and the Suncoast Parkway

PRICE: $12.5 million

LAW FIRM ON DEED: Bricklemyer Smolker & Bolves PA, Tampa

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: Oldsmar-based real estate development firm JES Properties Inc. purchased 260 acres at the northeast quadrant of Sate Road 54 and the Suncoast Parkway for its Ashley Glen development for $12.5 million.

The developer has already filed its necessary approvals with Pasco County government and the state to designate the property a DRI, or development of regional impact. The large-scale governmental approvals were necessary because JES Properties wants to convert the entitlements for the property, formerly called Suncoast Corners, from 807 residential units to a mixed use development of 1.8 million square feet of office space, 450,000 square feet of associated retail space and about 900 residential units.

The developer hopes to break ground on the project in the second quarter, according to Tom Sunderman, project manager with JES Properties.

"That residential is going to be apartments primarily," says Douglas J. Weiland, CEO of JES Properties. "There might be just a few condominiums. Right now we're looking for a major employer, hopefully a public company that would like this to be their southeast division. We feel there is naming opportunity (for the main road into the development)."

Weiland says it was Pasco County that had suggested the developer consider a large office park rather than purely residential development on the site. It was particularly attractive, Weiland says, because of its location on two growing roadways near Tampa International Airport and downtown Tampa.

The county also agreed to assist JES Properties with some of the traffic costs. The Ashley Glen development abuts Bexley Ranch, a 7,000-acre planned development which is designed to feature some 7,000 homes.

JES Properties, using the corporate name of Ashley Glen LLC for the purchase, mortgaged the property to Mercantile Bank for $17 million. The company has developed 19 projects comprising more than 3 million square feet of commercial space and more than 4,500 residential units.

Seminole developers

buy Hudson storage facility

BUYER: Hudson Acres LLC (principals: David Dreslin and Gary Gauthier), Seminole

SELLER: Sasil 1 LLC

PROPERTY: 8308 and 8414 New York Ave. and vacant commercial land, Hudson

PRICE: $1.5 million

PREVIOUS PRICE: $227,500, August 2005

LAW FIRM ON DEED: Roland D. Waller, Esq., New Port Richey

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: USA Investments: Gary Gauthier and David Dreslin purchased a storage facility on 28 acres in Hudson for $1.5 million.

"We're still evaluating what we're going to do there," Gauthier says. "We think that is going to be a great, growing area. We're talking with the county right now about the possible uses."

Adult business owner

buys Holiday building

BUYER: MDT Land Holdings Inc. (principal: Michael Tomkovich), Jacksonville

SELLER: Caudill Investment LLC

PROPERTY: 2841 U.S. Highway 19, Holiday

PRICE: $2.35 million

PREVIOUS PRICE: $750,000

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: A company owned by Jacksonville's Michael Tomkovich, owner of several strip clubs, including the Tampa Gold Club, purchased a small retail building on 0.76-acres on U.S. 19 in Holiday for $2.4 million. Caudill Investment LLC, of the telemarketing firm Caudill Advertising, formerly owned the building. Calls to Tomkovich's Jacksonville office were not returned prior to publication.

Tomkovich's MDT Land Holdings mortgaged the property to the former owner for $1.15 million.

Etc...

• Commercial real estate brokerage Sperry Van Ness has acquired the high-end Tampa institutional brokerage, JBM Realty Advisors Inc.

"JBM Realty Advisors' average deal sizes are in the range of $31 million and higher, which will enhance Sperry Van Ness' exposure in higher-end institutional sales," Sperry Van Ness co-founder, Rand Sperry, said in a press release. "JBM will receive the value-add of direct access to our offices, inventory and advisors nationally and globally - enabling them to significantly grow their client base."

JBM Realty Advisors operates locations in Tampa, Naples and Miami.

• CRF Pipkin LLC purchased the 9,675-square-foot Bank of America Building at 5001 South Florida Avenue, Lakeland, from American Financial Realty Trust for $1.15 million. Jim Stuckey of Colliers Arnold represented the seller, and Patricia Hendler of Anchor Commercial Realty Inc. represented the buyer.

• Riverview Property Investors Partnership completed construction of a 3,600-square-foot office building at 9430 Balm Riverview Drive in the Balm Riverview Office Park for $725,148. Mary Clare Codd and Ron Sparks of Colliers Arnold represented the seller.

• Times Publishing Co. Inc. leased 24,325 square feet of industrial flex space in AirPark North at Sligh Avenue and Anderson Road in Tampa from PCC Airpark LLC. David Box of Colliers Arnold represented the tenant. John Dunphy and Russ Sampson of Colliers Arnold represented the landlord.

• Lexington Homes, Inc. sublet 5,238 square feet of office space in the SunTrust Building at 10220 U.S. 19 N., Port Richey from SunTrust Bank. Jim Stuckey, MCR, of Colliers Arnold represented the sublessor, and Matt Shay of Prudential CRES represented the sublessee.

• Calibey Holdings LLC purchased an 8,650-square-foot industrial warehouse building at 4161 114th Terrace, Clearwater from R&B Properties for $500,000. Pat Marzulli, CCIM, SIOR, of Colliers Arnold represented the seller. Ann Walters of Smith and Associates represented the buyer.

• Smith & Nephew leased 40,000 square feet of office space in Echelon Pointe at Carillon at 920 Lake Carillon Drive, St. Petersburg from Carillon Point LLC. John Dunphy of Colliers Arnold represented the tenant, and Mike Talmadge of Echelon Real Estate Services LLC represented the landlord.

• Brookside Tech leased 2,047 square feet of office space in Roosevelt Office Center at 15500 Roosevelt Blvd., Largo, from AA Shuluga Rental. Alan Feldshue and Melanie Jackson of Colliers Arnold represented the landlord.

• Hallmark Development of Florida has hired Tampa-based Collman & Karsky Architects to design the 85,000-square-foot Lakeside Offices at Park Place. The three-story office development is planned for a three-acre site near the corner of State Road 60 and U.S. 19.

• Developer Crescent Resources, has started construction on the 247,000-square-foot Corporate Center IV at International Plaza off Lois Avenue near Tampa International Airport. The $55-million, eight-story building is scheduled to open in early 2009, according to Whit Duncan, senior vice president of the Florida region for Crescent Resources.

• Tampa Bay Press Inc. has renewed its 17,515-square-foot office lease at Eisenhower Technology Park located at 4710 Eisenhower Blvd. in Tampa. Josh Tarkow, an associate of leasing services with GVA Advantis, negotiated the transaction on behalf of the commercial offset printing company. The landlord, ARA Properties No. 1 Ltd., was represented by Cushman & Wakefield of Florida Inc.