Commercial Real Estate Briefs

By Business Observer Staff
| 6:00 p.m. February 22, 2008
| 2 Free Articles Remaining!

Charlotte–Lee–Collier

by Sean Roth | Real Estate Editor

LEE-COLLIER

Maronda Homes buys 48 lots

BUYER: Maronda Homes Inc. of Florida (principals: William and Ronald Wolf, Wayne Von Dreele, Mark Falck, William Rousch and Scott Howard), Pittsburgh, Pa.

SELLER: B/W General Contractors Inc.

PROPERTY: lots 1, 2, 7, 32, 36, 44, 48-55, 57, 60-64, 66, 170-182, 185, 187-192, 196-198, 200-202 and 205, Suncoast Lakes, Port Charlotte

PRICE: $1.35 million

LAW FIRM ON DEED: Akerman Senterfitt, Orlando

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: Maronda Homes Inc. of Florida purchased 48 home lots of 6,600 square feet in Suncoast Lakes on Suncoast Lakes Boulevard near Kings Highway from Bruce Williams Homes for $1.35 million.

"We're going in for permitting this week for our model there," says Jack Williams, division manager from Lehigh Acres to Tampa for Maronda Homes. "In two to three weeks we should be able to start construction on the model. The market has changed quite a bit so it's hard to say exactly what the average value of property in that area is worth, but I would definitely say that it was good price."

Based on the average lot square footage, the price equates to $4.26 a square foot or $186,000 an acre.

Homes in the community are set to start in the $150,000s and will range in size from 1,486 to 3,600 square feet. The gated community will also feature a swimming pool and playground area.

Williams points to the national company's manufacturing plants as a competitive price advantage the company holds over other home builders.

Miami investment group

buys Sunstate center

BUYER: T.Y.R.A. Properties LLC (principals: Voram Izhak and Tom Cabrerizo), Miami

SELLER: Tracy and Jenette Nelson

PROPERTY: 1105 Taylor Road, 1205 Elizabeth St. and 204 E. McKenzie St. in Sunstate Commerce Center, phase I and II, Punta Gorda

PRICE: $6.77 million

PREVIOUS PRICE: $2.97 million, March 2004

LAW FIRM ON DEED: Powell Carney Maller Ramsay & Grove PA, St. Petersburg

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: A limited liability corporation headed by Miami real estate investors Voram Izhak and Tom Cabrerizo purchased the three-building, 72,000-square-foot Sunstate Commerce Center for $6.77 million.

Carlos Acosta, Boback Commercial Group at RE/MAX Edge represented the seller, and Todd Snyder of Gene, Snyder & Co. represented the buyer.

"It's a very unique property," Acosta says. "The whole property has a zoning that allows [office, retail and flex uses]. The location is also fantastic. It's a few block from downturn and minutes to [Interstate] 75. Taylor Road is also the only other major north-south road other than [U.S.] 41 there."

The complex, which is mostly made up of office space, is 82% occupied. Acosta is marketing the remaining about 13,000 square feet of vacant space for $8 square foot for flex space or $11 for office space. The purchase price currently equates to an about 8% capitalization rate, Acosta says, however, at occupancy it will likely be a closer to 9% cap.

The new owners, which used the corporate identity of T.Y.R.A. Properties LLC for the purchase, also own Warehouse City in Fort Myers and School House Square in Port Charlotte, according to Acosta. T.Y.R.A. Properties mortgaged the three buildings to Ohio National Life Insurance Co. for $3.9 million.

Ohio investors buy

Brantley buildings

BUYER: L Star Capital Properties LLC (principals: Ron Campbell and Nicholas Evanchan), Fort Myers

SELLER: Jarvis Development LLC

PROPERTY: 12500 Brantley Commons Court, Fort Myers

PRICE: $1.067 million

BUYER: L Star Capital Properties LLC (principals: Ron Campbell and Nicholas Evanchan), Fort Myers

SELLER: Jarvis Development LLC

PROPERTY: 12481 Brantley Commons Court, Fort Myers

PRICE: $592,500

PREVIOUS PRICE: $124,400, July 2003 (contains multiple parcels)

TITLE FIRM ON DEED: Warranty Title Solutions LLC, Fort Myers

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: An investment group made up of professionals in the Akron, Ohio area and headed by Nicholas Evanchan and commercial Realtor Ron Campbell of Market America Realty and Investments Inc., purchased two new office buildings on Brantley Commons Court near Brittany Boulevard for $1.66 million.

The 12500 Brantley Commons Court building is 4,500 square feet and the smaller 12481 is 2,500 square feet.

"We're listing them for lease in a vanilla shell state for quick occupancy," Campbell says. "The plumbing is in as are the ceilings with lighting, walls and bathrooms. It's in a great location. It's right in between [U.S.] 41 and Summerlin and south of College Parkway. It's near the financial area and the new hospital on Daniels [Parkway] and Metro Parkway."

The buildings are being marketed for $18 to $20 a square foot for a triple net lease with a build-out allowance.

Etc...

• Storia Marble and Granite leased 5,000 square feet of space at 12350 Crystal Commerce Loop in Fort Myers from CJL Properties LLC. Bob Johnston, Jerry Messonnier and Derek Bornhorst, all of CB Richard Ellis Fort Myers-Naples, brokered the transaction.

• Seminole Wind Shutters leased 3,650 square feet of space at 5930 Youngquist Road in Fort Myers from Cool Properties. Scott Miller of CB Richard Ellis Fort Myers-Naples brokered the transaction.

• The architecture and interior design firm K2 Design Group is moving its corporate headquarters from Naples to the Studio and Design Center at 25081 Bernwood Drive in Bonita Springs. The move is scheduled for completion by the end of the month. K2 will be adding 2,000 square feet to the 4,000-square-foot Bonita facility.

"Having all of our people centrally located will allow us to be more effective in our work," Jenny Lind Carter, K2 Design Group president, said in a press release. "The location midway between Naples and Fort Myers will allow us to employ staff from both Collier and Lee Counties..."

K2 Design's existing space at 3940 Radio Road, Suite 102 in Naples will be available for lease beginning March 1.

• McGarvey Development Co. leased 4,000 square feet of office and warehouse space at 13881 Plantation Road at International Business Center in Fort Myers to Turley Flooring Systems Inc. Matt Price handled the lease for McGarvey.

• Jim Boback and his group Boback Commercial Group have made the move to Re/Max Edge's new commercial division with an office now in Parker Commons on Daniels Parkway.

• Panera Bread leased 4,000 square feet of retail space in the Page Field Commons at the intersection of Cleveland Avenue and the Fowler Summerlin Connector in Fort Myers. John Mounce and John Jones of LandQwest Commercial handled the transaction.

• Panera Bread leased 6,400 square feet of space at The Gateway Center on 2184 U.S. 41 N. in Naples. John Mounce and John Jones of LandQwest Commercial negotiated the transaction.

• with pic

Premier Builders, the home builder for Vineyards Development Corp., has completed construction of the Bella Vista mid-rise condominiums in Vista Pointe at Vineyards. Bella Vista, the third of five mid-rise condominiums in Vista Pointe, is located next to Vineyards Country Club and overlooks the Vineyards' two 18-hole golf courses.

• Stevens Construction Inc. has completed the pharmacy renovation at Florida Hospital Heartland Medical Center. The construction company converted the existing medical records area into a full-service pharmacy. Designed by HuntonBrady Architects, the new space includes a pharmacist's office, educational library, records control room, intravenous and chemical mix area and storage space.

SARASOTA-MANATEE

Stonehenge Capital buys Dixie-Southern, land

BUYER: Triple S&P Inc., Tampa

SELLER: Gary Claville and Dixie-Southern Constructors Inc.

PROPERTY: 12650 County Road 39, Duette

PRICE: $2.45 million

PREVIOUS PRICE: $22,400, July 1986 and $10,000, October 1992

ATTORNEY ON DEED: C. Geoffrey Vining, Esq., Lakeland

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: Stonehenge Capital, Stan Kinnett and Pat Logue purchased the Duette steel fabricator Dixie-Southern Constructors Inc., its inventory and real estate from its former owner/president Gary Claville.

The new ownership acquired the real estate, which features a 60,000-square-foot building on 12 acres, for $2.45 million. Other financial terms of the purchase were not released. The majority owner, Stonehenge Capital, will leave day-to-day operations to Kinnett, a former Whirlpool executive who will be Dixie-Southern Constructors' new president, and Dixie-Southern's current vice president Logue.

"In my last job I ran a clothes-dryer manufacturing plant covering all of North America," Kinnett says. "In that business we had to fabricate a lot of steel. Granted, it was only into nice square boxes, but it was an extensive business."

The Marion, Ohio, plant that Kinnett managed was the largest dryer manufacturing plant in the world.

Dixie-Southern Constructors specializes in pressure vessels, tanks, piping and plate work primarily for the energy, phosphate, and water treatment industries. Kinnett expects new power plant capital improvements required by the Clean Air Act to be a big driver for the 80-person company for the near future.

Claville has owned Dixie-Southern for 29 years and is expected to stay on with the company as an advisory director for the next few months.

The new ownership mortgaged the property to Regions Bank for $1.96 million and took out a second mortgage with Dixie-Southern Constructors for $1 million.

Entrepreneur Ben Price

buys bowling lanes

BUYER: 8154 LLC (principal: Ben Price), Sarasota

SELLER: Mariner Investments Inc.

PROPERTY: 8154 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota

PRICE: $1.38 million

PREVIOUS PRICE: $1.5 million, May 2004

LAW FIRM ON DEED: Trenam Kemker, Tampa

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: Longboat Key businessman Ben Price purchased the 22,000-square-foot former Rip Van Winkle Lanes bowling alley on U.S. 41 for $1.38 million.

Calls to Price were not returned prior to publication. However, Price has posted "BP Group Aviation" on the signage for the building, which is directly across the street from Sarasota Bradenton International Airport.

Price is best known as CEO of Cheetah Technologies Inc., which he sold to communications-testing equipment maker Dynatech Corp. in early 2000. In June, Price sold the former Cheetah Technologies building on 2501 63rd Ave. E., Bradenton to the Manatee County School District for $15.75 million.

Sayco, Aqua Fasteners

relocate to Bell Road

BUYER: Triple S&P Inc., Tampa

SELLER: Gary Claville and Dixie-Southern Constructors Inc.

PROPERTY: 12650 County Road 39, Duette

PRICE: $2.45 million

PREVIOUS PRICE: $22,400, July 1986 and $10,000, October 1992

ATTORNEY ON DEED: C. Geoffrey Vining, Esq., Lakeland

The Marion, Ohio, plant that Kinnett managed was the largest dryer manufacturing plant in the world.

Claville has owned Dixie-Southern for 29 years and is expected to stay on with the company as an advisory director for the next few months.

The new ownership mortgaged the property to Regions Bank for $1.96 million and took out a second mortgage with Dixie-Southern Constructors for $1 million.

Etc...

• Sarasota-based SKY Sotheby's International Realty president Chad Roffers is now the primary owner of the company after recently acquiring the ownership share of co-founder Brandyn Herbold.

"Over the past four years, Brandyn and I have worked closely to build SKY Sotheby's International Realty," Roffers said in a press release. "Through this journey, I couldn't have asked for a better business partner. Brandyn has played an important role in defining our company's vision, as well as growing our presence in Southwest Florida and Minnesota."

Roffers will continue in his role as president; his brother Frank Roffers, will lead the firm's Minnesota brokerage operations. In 2007, the company had 74 agents and produced $600 million in transactions.

• The House of Silk Flowers of Havelock, N.C., leased the former AAA Vertical Blind warehouse, an 8,000-square-foot industrial building at 8103 25th Court E. in Sarasota. The House of Silk Flowers plans to use the facility as its West Florida distribution center. Roberta Kolton of Michael Saunders & Co. Commercial Group handled the transaction between the landlord, Charles Young, and the new tenant.

• Ryland Homes has opened a 5,365-square-foot community clubhouse with a fitness center and community swimming pool at Copperstone, located off Moccasin Wallow Road near Interstate 75 in Parrish. Ryland Homes is building 117 townhomes there priced from $129,990 and 414 single-family homes priced from $149,990.

• Inbar architect AIA and MyGreenBuildings have been selected to build what is slated to be the first LEED-certified home on Casey Key Beach, in Nokomis. As currently conceived, the home will cluster three buildings around landscaped deck space and will also include a waterfall edge water feature leading to an exterior dining area.

• The Sarasota County Commission awarded a $938,456 contract to APAC Southeast Inc. of Sarasota to resurface 40 roadways in the north county area. The 22 lane miles of roads are in the Phillippi Creek Septic System Replacement Program Area K, east of Lockwood Ridge Road and south of University Parkway off Desoto Road. The contract is scheduled to take up to 90 days to complete. Funding is provided through the 1% sales tax.

• The Manatee Chamber of Commerce awarded Lakewood Ranch Commercial Realty and Casto Lifestyle Properties the Robert E. Hunt Beautification Award for the Main Street at Lakewood Ranch project. Main Street at Lakewood Ranch is a retail lifestyle center that is home to more than 30 boutiques, restaurants, a cinema, residential condos and offices.

TAMPA BAY

Ballast Point Group buys 23 acres

BUYER: PCC Development LLC (Steven Sembler, Darian Johnson, Bruce Keene, Richard Moesari, Jean Defries and Christian Ruppel), St. Petersburg

SELLER: MTD Manufacturing Technologies Inc.

PROPERTY: 10280 U.S. Highway 19 N. and 5201 102nd Ave. N.,

PRICE: $4.76 million

BUYER: Pinellas Commerce Center LLC (Steven Sembler, Darian Johnson, Bruce Keene, Richard Moesari, Jean Defries and Christian Ruppel), St. Petersburg

SELLER: MTD Manufacturing Technologies Inc.

PROPERTY: 5201 102nd Ave. N. and additional vacant industrial land

PRICE: $4.43 million

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: Ballast Point Group LLC, a real estate development sub-company of St. Petersburg-based Sembler Investments, purchased 23 acres with seven industrial buildings on U.S. 19 and 102nd Avenue North in Pinellas County for $9.19 million.

The developer plans to demolish two of the seven buildings - totaling 177,000 square feet - refurbish the remaining five, subdivide a building and construct an additional 14,000-square-foot building.

Broderick & Associates Inc. is marketing the resulting development of seven buildings, 19 industrial lots and a 1.9-acre commercial lot fronting U.S. 19 as Pinellas Commerce Center.

"We're looking to lease the 155,000 square feet of building space and sell the lots," says Robert Barber, an associate with Broderick & Associates Inc. "We definitely think [the U.S. 19] lot would make a really good hotel site."

The building space is being listed for $6.25 to $7.25 a square foot triple net. The 19 industrial lots range in price from $235,440 to $673,695 and the frontage parcel is listed at $1.85 million.

Ballast Point Group LLC's purchase entities PCC Development LLC and Pinellas Commerce Center LLC mortgaged the property to Regions Bank for $14 million.

Amprop Development

buys building for bank

BUYER: Amprop Ventures DeLeon LLC (principal: Eric Schoessler), Tampa

SELLER: Palm Bank

PROPERTY: 612 Dale Mabry Highway, Tampa

PRICE: $2.97 million

PREVIOUS PRICE: $1.4 million, May 2004

LAW FIRM ON DEED: Foley & Lardner LLP, Tampa

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: Tampa-based developer Amprop Development purchased a 3,200-square-foot bank building for $2.97 million.

"We're going to lease the building to Bank of St. Petersburg," says Eric Schoessler, managing partner for Amprop Development. "We'll be doing some light remodeling of the bank to make it look a little closer to their standard prototype. This wasn't a typical transaction for us. Mainly we buy the land, build the building and then least it out. But it was a good opportunity, we knew [Bank of St. Petersburg] was looking for a location in South Tampa. This will be our third transaction with them."

The bank currently operates in that market from inline space in a retail shopping center at 1108-A S. Dale Mabry Highway, Tampa.

Amprop Development is best known for its large grocery-anchor shopping centers, but it does far greater single-tenant transactions, according to Schoessler.

"We typically have three to four grocery-anchored centers going at a time, because it takes so long to go from concept to completion," he says. "It typically takes a year to two years to build. We had one that took us seven years just to break ground. So to supplement that we do a lot of single-tenant build-to-suite transactions. We've probably done north of 100 tire stores and more than 200 single-tenant buildings."

Amprop Ventures DeLeon LLC mortgaged the building to Lydian Private Bank for $2.87 million.

Trust buys Largo units,

leases to Kramski

BUYER: EJB 118th Place Seven Units LLC (principals: Dennis Deloach Jr. and Peter Hofstra), Seminole

SELLER: 118th Place L. LLP

PROPERTY: 8222 118th Ave. N., units 625, 630, 635, 640, 645, 650, 655, Largo

PRICE: $4.5 million

TITLE FIRM ON DEED: Seminole Title Co., Seminole

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: An investment group headed by Dennis Deloach Jr. and Peter Hofstra of the law firm Deloach & Hofstra in Seminole purchased seven units in the commercial condominium 118th Place in Largo for $4.5 million.

The two attorneys were involved in the acquisition as trustees for the Ernest J. Bickley Trust.

"The units are already occupied by a company that makes auto parts," Hofstra says. "It was just an investment."

The seven units make up the 33,600 square feet leased by stamping and injection molding firm Kramski North America. Kramski North America has agreed to a 10-year lease on the property through July of 2017.

The purchase entity EJB 118th Place Seven Units LLC mortgaged the units to Bank of Tampa for $1.3 million.

Etc...

• MFP Inc. leased 6,615 square feet of office space at 628 Bypass Drive, Clearwater from Carey & Leisure. Alan Feldshue and Melanie Jackson of Colliers Arnold represented the landlord.

• Utopia Inc. leased 3,530 square feet of office space in Northwood Commons at 2454 McMullen Booth Road in Clearwater from Northwood Commons LLC. Alan Feldshue of Colliers Arnold represented the landlord.

• The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives leased an additional 3,516 square feet of office space in Park Tower at 400 N. Tampa St., Tampa from Sterling American Property Inc. Claire Calzon of Colliers Arnold represented the landlord.

• Security National Mortgage Company leased 3,500 square feet of office space in Gateway at Ninth at 8950 Dr. Martin Luther King St. N., St. Petersburg from BDI Properties, LLC. Alan Feldshue and Melanie Jackson of Colliers Arnold represented the landlord.

• Southern Crafted Homes plans to start construction in the next 60 days on a community pavilion at The Preserve at Quail Woods, a gated community located on Sora Boulevard west of Interstate 75 in Wesley Chapel.

• The Mele Group of Marcus & Millichap reports that in 2007 it sold 19 self storage properties, totaling slightly more than $98 million in sales. So far Mike Mele and Scott Rutherford look to be on track to beating that figure. The duo have already closed almost $15 million in January and have another $60 million under contract.

• A Westin Element hotel, a 12-story, 170-room modern extended-stay hotel by Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide Inc., is planned for a site across the street from the International Plaza mall in Westshore. Construction for the hotel is scheduled to start in spring 2008 and completion is slated for mid-to-late 2009.

• Cuhaci & Peterson Architects, based in Orlando, was awarded the contract to design a Starbucks restaurant in Tampa. The 1,000-square-foot Starbucks will be located at Florida Avenue and Channelside Drive.

• Ruskin's Little Harbor, has completed and opened the Antigua Cove Marina. Located on Tampa Bay's South Shore, Antigua Cove features 99 floating concrete docks and slips for 40-foot, 50-foot and 60-foot vessels.