Commercial Real Estate Briefs

By Business Observer Staff
| 6:00 p.m. January 11, 2008
| 2 Free Articles Remaining!

Manatee-Sarasota

by Sean Roth | Real Estate Editor

SARASOTA-MANATEE

Latt Maxcy acquires Palmer Crossings

BUYER: Latt Maxcy Corp., Frostproof

SELLER: Palmer Crossings Plaza LLC and William Saba

PROPERTY: southeast quadrant of Clark Road and Honore Avenue, Sarasota

PRICE: $57 million

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: Froostproof-based Latt Maxcy Corp. purchased the Palmer Crossings retail shopping center at the intersection of Clark Road and Honore Avenue from a group headed by Sarasota investor/developer William Saba for a total of $57 million.

The sale included 147,083 square feet of retail space - anchored by a 64,100-square-foot Bealls Department Store and a 44,510-square-foot Sweetbay Supermarket - plus land leased to eight adjoining outparcels housing Bank of America, RBC Centura, Applebee's and Chick-fil-a. The sale also included land that is being developed as an 18,000-square-foot OfficeMax - scheduled to open in April - and a 10,980-square-foot building along with a separate parcel designated for future development of another 32,000 square foot structure.

"This was a location play," says Harry Lerner, president of Maxcy Development Group, which manages the real estate interests of Latt Maxcy Corp. "We just like that market and what the future brings to that area. There is not a lot of available land, particularly based on the development growth that is expected to occur over the next five to 10 years. Horizon Mortgage Corp. represented the seller. The sale price equates to an about 6% cap rate, according to N. J. Olivieri, president of Horizon Mortgage Corp.

"The basic reason [for the high price] is this is the way that Sarasota is going," Olivieri says. "There's a high class of new commercial in that area of Clark. There's the Sarasota Memorial Hospital facility planned. Palmer Ranch is doing well. It's immediately adjacent to 500 new residential units within walking distance. It's really at main and main. It's a nice center that should keep its value nicely."

Formed in 1963 from the land holdings of the Maxcy family, Latt Maxcy operates in real estate development, agriculture, ranching and banking.

Sarasota Restaurant

Equipment buys warehouse

BUYER: Marilyn Snodell, Osprey

SELLER: Sarasota Commerce Park LLC

PROPERTY: 795 and 395 Commerce Drive, also known as units 8-11, Sarasota

PRICE: $1.15 million

PREVIOUS PRICE: $2.26 million, January 2002 (includes additional properties)

LAW FIRM ON DEED: Williams Parker Harrison Dietz & Getzen, Sarasota

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: Marilyn Snodell, owner of Sarasota Restaurant Equipment, purchased a 13,000-square-foot warehouse in Sarasota for $1.15 million. The new space will house restaurant equipment, tablecloth and associated items, and eventually the business will relocate its bid office there.

"Our company has grown quite a lot in two years," Snodell says. " I bought the company in 2005. We bought two other business to compliment our business."

Sarasota Restaurant Equipment acquired a business in Fort Myers and took over the inventory and the facilities of Coast Restaurant Equipment in Bradenton after that company went out of business, according to Snodell.

Along with allowing the Sarasota Restaurant Equipment additional storage space in central location near Interstate 75, the new warehouse will replace some storage units the company had been leasing in the area. The company maintains offices in Sarasota, Bradenton and Fort Myers.

Taylor Woodrow, Morrison

form Taylor Morrison

Following British community developer Taylor Woodrow's merger with U.K.-based home builder Morrison Homes earlier this year, the new joint company will be known as Taylor Morrison as of Jan. 1.

The company has plans for 46 communities in Florida. The North American Central office for Taylor Woodrow Inc., is in Bradenton.

"The new Taylor Morrison is solidly positioned to lead Florida's housing industry recovery and we are very excited about 2008," Kyle Marik, marketing manager for Morrison, said in a press release. "We have more communities to offer, with a wider range of lifestyles and price ranges than either company could claim before the merger, and we offer a broader range of consumer choices than any other Florida homebuilder."

Ringling College of Art plans for growth

Faced with consistent 10% enrollment jumps the past four years, Sarasota's Ringling College of Art & Design is taking time now to prepare the college infrastructure for both near- and long-term.

Last month, the Sarasota City Commission approved the college's overlay district, which calls for rezoning the 25.8-acre college from various disparate zonings to Office Regional District under the Future Land Use Plan. The college is still awaiting final approval for a rezone of the property, but is simultaneously pushing forward with plans for two large buildings that it hopes to start in February.

The college envisions an 85,391-square-foot five-story academic collaboration building near the corner of Old Bradenton Road and U.S. 41 and a five-story, 75,000-square-foot student housing building with 110 semi private rooms and one apartment. The academic building is budgeted to cost $14-15 million, and the residential building will likely cost $15 million.

The college is working towards the goal of having those buildings ready by Fall of 2009.

The college has tabled for the moment plans to build a 15,000-square-foot library addition, and may eventually kills those plans, according to school President Larry Thompson, in favor of a new library building. In addition to its student growth, the college is adding six new majors.

Etc...

• After four years in planning and development, Sarasota developer 888 Partners LLC has completed the 12 waterfront residences at Hudson Crossing at 888 South Orange Ave., Sarasota. Harry Rosenblum is the managing principal of 888 Partners LLC. The developer reports that only one 2,550-square-foot, three-bedroom unit is available for sale.

• Kevin Heiss of the Lakewood Ranch office of Largo Capital Inc. has arranged $16.7 million in financing for two nearby retail plazas.

Bradenton Commons, a 23,714-square-foot retail plaza in Bradenton, agreed to a $3.06 million mortgage with a five-year fixed rate loan and a 30-year amortization schedule. Heiss also arranged $11.37 million in financing for the 92,719-square-foot Galleria Plaza in Venice. The Galleria's loan was structured on a 10-year fixed rate loan and 25-year amortization schedule.

Tom Danahy, president of LWR Communities LLC, a subsidiary of Schroeder-Manatee Ranch Inc., has been elected chairman of the Association of Florida Community Developers. The AFCD is made up of 78 community developers throughout the state. Danahy is expected to serve a two-year term. Danahy previously served a two-year term as vice chairman. The association primarily focuses on the legal issues affecting community developers. Danahy expects to host a meeting of the Florida Community Developers in the Sarasota-Manatee area in the next year or two.

LEE-COLLIER

New York company

buys Jamaica Bay Plaza

BUYER: Sanjo Realty Corp. (principals: Josephine, Santo and John Sciarrino), Glen Head, N.Y.

SELLER: DRW Partnership LLP fka DRW

PROPERTY: 15091 S. Tamiami Trail, Fort Myers

PRICE: $2.95 million

PREVIOUS PRICE: $1.05 million, September 1994

LAW FIRM ON DEED: Treiser Collins & Vernon, Naples

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: Sanjo Realty Corp. purchased the 18,000-square-foot retail/office Jamaica Bay Plaza on Tamiami Trail at the Jamaica Bay intersection in Fort Myers for $3 million. The building is currently partially occupied by a Fitness Advantage gym, but has an 11,700-square-foot vacancy. The building was constructed in 1998.

Sanjo Realty Corp. purchased the property as an investment and is looking to fill the vacancy, according to listing agent Dan Miller with Re/Max Realty Group. William Mankin of Colliers Arnold represented the buyer.

Charlotte County

buys 212 acres of preserve

BUYER: Charlotte County

SELLER: Burnt Store Groves LLC

PROPERTY: a portion of Shell Creek Road east of Washington Loop Road off Nellis Lane in Charlotte County

PRICE: $7 million

LAW FIRM ON DEED: Farr, Farr, Emerich, Hackett and Carr PA, Punta Gorda

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: Charlotte County purchased the first southern 212 acres of the 370-acre Shell Creek Preserve for $7 million.

"We haven't closed on the northern piece yet," says Andy Stevens, natural resources division manager for Charlotte County's Environmental & Extension Services department. "It's a very pristine site. There's been relatively no disturbance. It was a very important property for preservation and water quality."

The property was the first piece of land purchased through the voter-approved Conservation Charlotte Land Acquisition Program.

FP&L invests in

future substations

BUYER: Florida Power & Light Co., Juno Beach

SELLER: Charlotte Commercial LC

PROPERTY: 20443, 20433, 20423, 20413, 20403 and 20393 Kenilworth Blvd., Port Charlotte

PRICE: $3.02 million

TITLE FIRM ON DEED: Chicago Title Insurance Agency Inc., Fort Lauderdale

SELLER: Premier Airport Park LLP

PROPERTY: off Airport Hall Road in Lee County

PRICE: $1.7 million

PREVIOUS PRICE: $540,000, March 2004

LAW FIRM ON DEED: Fowler White Boggs Banker PA, Fort Myers

SELLER: Hickey Creek Partners LLC

PROPERTY: 2920 Hickory Creek Road, Alva

PRICE: $1.5 million

PREVIOUS PRICE: $1.8 million, December 2005

LAW FIRM ON DEED: Bond Schoeneck & King PA, Naples

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: Florida Power & Light Co. looks to be taking a lower real estate market as an opportunity to invest in future growth sites in Charlotte and Lee counties. The electric company purchased five acres on Kennilworth Boulevard in Port Charlotte for $3.02 million.

A spokesperson for FP&L reports that the substation planned for that site is likely several years down the road, but that growth trends in that area made it a smart acquisition.

FP&L purchased 5.2 acres in Lee County's Airport Park immediately east of an existing wastewater treatment center for $1.7 million. That substation, called the Treeline Distribution Substation, is scheduled to open in 2010.

FP&L also purchased 15 acres on Hickory Creek Road in Alva for $1.5 million to develop what it's calling the Mustang Distribution Substation. Construction on that facility is scheduled to start in 2009.

Etc...

• Fort Myers-based Eagle Concrete Systems Inc. has begun concrete and masonry work for Owen-Ames-Kimball Co. on the East Elementary School's replacement project. Eagle Concrete is using tilt-wall construction to build the 189,532-square-foot building at 27050 Fairway Drive in Punta Gorda. Owen-Ames-Kimball is the project's general contractor. Designed by Reynolds, Smith and Hills Inc., the project includes a 164,389-square-foot building for classrooms, a 4,696-square-foot physical education building, a 2,624-square-foot chiller plant and a 17,823-square-foot walkway.

• Florida Investors has announced plans to build a fifth building at the Six Mile Cypress Office Park on Six Mile Cypress Parkway, just south of the Interstate 75 and Colonial Boulevard intersection. Construction is scheduled to begin sometime this month. The building will feature 12,100 square feet of office space for lease. Customized office space is being pre-leased and occupancy is expected in December of 2008.

Six Mile Cypress Office Park already comprises four multi-tenant buildings for a total of more than 60,000 square feet of leased office space. Major tenants include Lennar Homes LLC, Universal American Mortgage Co., The Sherwin Williams Co., Banks Engineering, Florida Gems Realty, Herndon Carr & Co , Ajax Paving, and Florida Investors. Orion Bank is providing funding for the project.

• Cohen & Grigsby PC leased 5,778 square feet of space in the Regions Bank Building at 1100 5th Ave. S. in Naples, from 1100 Building LLC. Scott Dunnuck of CB Richard Ellis Fort Myers-Naples brokered the transaction.

• EZON leased 2,390 square feet of space in the Regions Bank Building at 1100 5th Ave. S. in Naples, from 1100 Building LLC. Scott Dunnuck of CB Richard Ellis Fort Myers-Naples brokered the transaction.

• Vision Ace Hardware LLC leased 2,201 square feet of space in the Regions Bank Building, located at 1100 5th Ave. S. in Naples, from 1100 Building LLC. Scott Dunnuck of CB Richard Ellis Fort Myers-Naples brokered the transaction.

• Professional Building Systems has started construction on the Family Foot and Leg Center at 661 Goodlette Road, Suite 103, Naples. Designed by Brooks Swanson Architects, the office features a reception area, five treatment rooms, three offices and a dedicated X-ray room. The new office will be 40% larger than the practice's existing location. Family Foot and Leg Center treats ailments of the foot and ankle and has a special focus on reconstructive surgery of the foot and lower leg.

• Construction on the new corporate headquarters for FineMark National Bank & Trust in Fort Myers is halfway done. The new headquarters, located at Riverwalk at Whiskey Creek, is just north of College Parkway off of Winkler Road in Fort Myers.

The 20,000-square-foot, two-story building will offer banking and trust clients private rooms, dining facilities, a vault with safe deposit boxes and drive through service. The facility will also include a first-floor community room with seating for 120 guests for educational, cultural and community activities. Gora McGahey Associates in Architecture designed the building, and Owen-Ames-Kimball is the general contractor. Completion of the new headquarters is scheduled for the first quarter of 2008.

• Bonita Springs-based Heatherwood Construction started construction on the new corporate headquarters for First American Bank in Naples. The two-story building in the Marquesa Plaza at 3360 Pine Ridge Road will offer more than 26,000 square feet of banking and office space. In addition to the bank, Marquesa Plaza will feature a Starbucks, Wireless Toyz and Figaro's Pizzeria. Bruce Lampitt of Sheeley Architects provided architectural design services. Construction is scheduled for completion in October 2008.

• Lorry Jackson purchased the 5,854-square-foot Perkins Restaurant building, at 4335 Tamiami Trail E., Naples from Erickson Ventures of South Naples Inc. for $1.958 million. The Perkins Restaurant will remain as the tenant.

• Gora McGahey Associates in Architecture has added a tenant improvement division focused on interior space planning principally for medical facilities and retail spaces. The new division will operate under the direction of Ella Materska.

• Healthcare provider Anchor Health Centers says that the 15,400-square-foot Edison Village Building in east Naples, across from Physicians Regional Medical Center-Collier Blvd., is now open and accepting patients.

• Real estate brokerage John R. Wood Realtors has opened two new offices - Charleston Square at Banyan Boulevard and Gulf Shore Boulevard - and in the Edgewater Beach Hotel on Gulf Shore Boulevard North. In the past 18 months, John R. Wood has also opened new offices in Fort Myers and Sanibel.

• CC Turner Inc. has completed construction of Blu Sushi at the Gulf Coast Town Center in Estero. The 4,400-square-foot restaurant is the third location for Blu Sushi

• Brooks & Freund has reached the midway-point on the construction of Shoppes at the Forest, at 16237 and 16234 S. Tamiami Trail in Fort Myers. The project features a 12,984-square-foot building that will house six retail units. Shoppes at the Forest LLC is the project developer. Sheeley Architects provided architectural design services. Construction is scheduled for completion in early 2008.

• Henderson, Franklin, Starnes & Holt PA leased a 2,448-square-foot office space at 2310 First St., units 305 and 306, Fort Myers, The Franklin Arms Bldg from The Downtown Building LLC with Steve Wood negotiating the transaction.

• Development of the 38,000-square-foot Marketplace at Metro retail plaza is well underway and on schedule for tenants to start occupying space in the development by January.

Tenants in the development will include The Bourbon Street Bar and Grill, Jan Pro, Todel Development and a coffee shop. Marketplace at Metro is located a quarter mile south of Colonial Boulevard, on the west side of Metro Parkway. The development has 18 unit spaces. Select Real Estate by Stephanie Miller Inc. is the sales and leasing agent for the Marketplace at Metro. The general contractor for the project is Todel Development Inc.

• Planet Beach Contempo Spa has agreed to a five-year lease of 2,622 square feet in the Orion Center at the corner of Daniels Parkway and Plantation Road in Fort Myers from The D'Jamoos Group. The projected opening date for Planet Beach is March.

TAMPA BAY

Exeter Property Group buys Verizon warehouse

BUYER: Exeter 8800 Adamo LLC, Plymouth Meeting, Penn.

SELLER: Verizon Florida LLC

PROPERTY: 8800 E. Adamo Drive, Tampa

PRICE: $19 million

PREVIOUS PRICE: $3.58 million, November 1982 and January 1976

LAW FIRM ON DEED: Holland & Knight LLP, Tampa

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: The Plymouth Meeting, Penn.-based private equity group Exeter Property Group purchased an 380,000-square-foot flex warehouse building from Verizon for $19 million. For the moment, Verizon will lease the entire building, but in July it will scale back its lease in the building to roughly 200,000 square feet.

"That will leave us 180,000 square feet that we will start marketing later this month," says Ralph Kittrell, investment officer for the southeastern United States for Exeter Property Group. "We're interviewing brokerage firms right now. Verizon had used it as a combination office -which was built out for a call center - and also as a warehouse. The majority of their office personnel are moving to downtown Tampa."

The new ownership is planning minimal improvements to the building, Kittrell says, which will focus primarily on demolishing some of the interior office space. The building, which Kittrell plans to target to the regional distribution market, also features three acres of outdoor storage.

The Tampa property is Exeter Property Group's second Florida property following a recent Jacksonville property purchase, Kittrell says. The company is currently considering purchasing another Tampa area in the next 30 days.

"We're looking for value added properties [such as the Tampa property]," Kittrell says. "[Exeter] recently raised $350 million in equity, which should translate into about $1.5 billion in purchasing in the next 24 months."

Pegasus Imaging

renovating M.L.K. office

BUYER: Pegasus Imaging Corp. (principals: Jack Berlin and Chris Lubeck), Tampa

SELLER: 1725 MLK LLC

PROPERTY: 1725 W. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Tampa

PRICE: $1.09 million

PREVIOUS PRICE: $305,000, August 1997

LAW FIRM ON DEED: Carey O'Malley Whitaker & Manson PA, Tampa

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: Tampa-based digital imaging software company Pegasus Imaging Corp. purchased a 7,000-square-foot office building down the street from the company's headquarters building on Riverside Drive for $1.09 million.

"It's an incredibly ugly building," says Jack Berlin, president of Pegasus Imaging. "It was built in 1964 by the brick trade union so there's brick everywhere ... in this ugly '60s style. There're no windows in the entire building. Its one advantage is it's close to our existing office. We're going to gut the interior as well as rip off the façade. It's going to be a total remodel."

Berlin says he went into the purchase with the plan of demolishing the building and constructing a new building, but upon a latter inspection it was determined that the foundation and overall structure of the building was solid and could be retained.

Following the renovation work, which is still being revised, the building should have 10,000 square feet of useable space. The company currently occupies 21,000 square feet, including its lobby space, at 4001 N. Riverside Drive, Tampa. The new building will house several of the company's software programmers. Pegasus Imaging hopes to move in about a year, according to Berlin.

"This will probably meet our needs for the next three years [from the time we move in] if we continue to grow at the same pace we have," Berlin says. "We may wind up finding space outside the area. We recently added office space in Atlanta. We're finding it very difficult to recruit here. There just aren't enough software programs in this area."

Perry M. Darby Architect of Tampa will be the architect for the renovation, and Bret Walley Contractor LLC in Tampa will be the general contractor.

Prologis buys building, develops Prologis Park Madison

BUYER: Prologis (principals: K. Dane Brooksher, Stephen Feinberg, George Fotiades, Donald Jacobs, Walter Rakowich, Jeffrey Schwartz), Denver

SELLER: WI Commercial Madison LLC

PROPERTY: 4914 Joanne Kearney Blvd., Tampa

PRICE: $5.31 million

LAW FIRM ON DEED: Gibbons Neumann Bello Segall Allen Halloran & Wright PA, Tampa

SELLER: Madison Commercial LLC

PROPERTY:

PRICE: $4.48 million

LAW FIRM ON DEED: Donna J. Feldman PA

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: REIT ProLogis purchased the 71,740-square-foot former Weldon South distribution facility and additional land in Madison Park of Commerce for a total of $9.79 million.

The property, located on 18 acres along Madison Avenue near Interstate 75, will be called ProLogis Park Madison. Starting in the second half of the year, ProLogis plans to develop two additional distribution facilities totaling 140,000 square feet on the additional vacant land. Eventually the company plans to own five building housing a total of 350,000 square feet on the site.

"We were enticed by growing our asset base in the Tampa market, and we really liked that location," says Scott Alexander, ProLogis' first vice president and market officer in south Florida and Tampa. "It can easily serve the entire Tampa Bay market."

The former Weldon South building is currently vacant and is being marketed by the seller's agent in the purchase, John Jenkins of CB Richard Ellis.

ProLogis is one of the largest providers of industrial facilities in Tampa, with more than 4.1 million square feet of industrial space owned, managed or under development. ProLogis tenants in Tampa include Bunzl Distribution, Corporate Express, Verizon, Houston Wire & Cable Co., and Cintas Corp. Worldwide, the company reported $34.4 billion in assets owned, managed and under development, comprising 483 million square feet in 2,669 properties as of Sept. 30, 2007.

Etc...

• Gulf Coast Consulting Inc. was selected by Hallmark Development of Florida to provide engineering services for its $17 million Lakeside Offices at Park Place office building. The 85,000-square-foot Lakeside Offices are planned for a 6.2-acre site at 355 Park Place Blvd., Clearwater. Gulf Coast Consulting is responsible for the civil-engineering drawings, utility and site plans as well as processing permits. The company specializes in civil and site engineering, transportation, traffic engineering, planning, permitting and construction services.