Commercial Real Estate Briefs

By Business Observer Staff
| 6:00 p.m. October 23, 2008
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Charlotte–Lee–Collier

COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE lee-collier by Sean Roth | Real Estate Editor

Juniper Communities buys Naples ALF

BUYER: Juniper Michael Limited Partnership (76% interest) and Juniper Southern Limited Partnership (24%) (principals: Lynne Katzmann and James Poitras), Bloomfield, N.J.

SELLER: Extended Care Portfolio Florida LLC

PROPERTY: 1189 Encore Way, Naples

PRICE: $3.13 million

PREVIOUS PRICE: $2 million, July 2007

LAW FIRM ON DEED: Lowndes Drosdick Doster Kantor & Reed PA, Orlando

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: Bloomfield, N.J.-based assisted living, nursing care, and dementia care community owner/operator Juniper Communities purchased the Encore Senior Living facility in Naples for $3.13 million. The new ownership has renamed the 60-apartment assisted living facility, which focuses on assisting people with memory problems, to Juniper Village in Naples.

Lynne Katzmann, president and founder of Juniper Communities says that many of the facility's employees have been retained and that the ownership will be providing additional training support programs and is considering adding day- and night-care services.

"We are specialists in memory care and dementia, and big believers in small environments," Katzmann says. "This property is really six small cottages surrounded by a larger space. They are really small family or group living environments in a secured community where the residents can enjoy the outdoors. We're excited to add the Naples community to the portfolio. It makes a lot of sense geographically."

Juniper Communities has owned the 80-unit assisted living community Juniper Village at Cape Coral since 1985. The private company owns 15 facilities across the country.

Fort Myers hoteliers

buy Naples Super 8 Motel

BUYER: Laxmi of Naples LLC (principals: Chetan and Sanjay Patel), Fort Myers

SELLER: J.S. Roath Corp.

PROPERTY: 3880 Tollgate Blvd., Naples

PRICE: $3.2 million

PREVIOUS PRICE: $3.08 million, July 2000

LAW FIRM ON DEED: Cheffy Passidomo Wilson & Johnson LLP, Naples

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: Chetan and Sanjay Patel's Fort Myers limited liability company Laxmi of Naples LLC purchased the 104-room Super 8 Motel in Naples from J.S. Roath Corp. for $3.2 million.

Fred Kermani of CB Richard Ellis, Fort Myers-Naples represented the seller and Mike Patel of GPS Realty represented the buyer.

"They're active in other hotels in the area already," Kermani says. "What made the deal was the location and price. It needed some repair work mainly in the interior. [The price] was on the low end. It's located close to I-75 and was the only hotel in the area with truck parking."

The new owners did not return calls for comment prior to publication.

Belleair Development Group

plans Skyline Boulevard 7-Eleven

BUYER: BDG Skyline LLC (principal: Carlos Yepes), Pinellas Park

SELLER: Windsor-Thomas Group Inc.

PROPERTY: 2609 S.W. Eighth Place, Cape Coral

PRICE: $1.45 million

PREVIOUS PRICE: $300,000, January 2007

TITLE FIRM ON DEED: Hillsborough Title Inc., Plant City

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: Pinellas Park-based retail development firm Belleair Development Group Inc. purchased 1.3 acres of vacant commercial land at the southwest corner of Southwest 26th Street and Skyline Boulevard in Cape Coral for $1.45 million. The developer plans to develop a 7-Eleven gas station on the site starting in November. The gas station is expected to take 120 days to build.

"There's not another gas station nearby," says Greg Nowak, CEO of Belleair Development Group. "It near a freestanding Home Depot and a couple other outparcels for Bank of America and Chick-fil-A. The guy behind us is also planning some [new development] as well. We're hoping to open in the first of 2009."

Belleair Development Group's purchase entity BDG Skyline LLC mortgaged the property to Regions Bank for $1.52 million.

ETC...

• Naples-based Spectrum Contracting Inc. has been awarded the contract for the Charlotte County Sports Complex, the planned new spring training complex for the Tampa Bay Ray. The project includes several restoration services from concrete repair, specialty coatings and joint sealants to waterproofing and painting.

• Booska Movers Inc. leased 4,000 square feet of industrial space at 5700 Taylor Rd., unit B., Naples from WVG LLC. Bill Gonnering and Christine Martin of Investment Properties Corp. handled the transaction.

• Dr. Marillz Bumgarner leased 2,000 square feet of office space at 3447 Pine Ridge Road, Suite 101, Naples from Parrimoor Development of Naples LLC. Clint Sherwood, CCIM of Investment Properties Corp. handled the transaction.

• Brooks & Freund has begun construction on a new buildings for the Unitarian Universalist Church at 6340 Napa Woods Way in Naples. The 3,520-square-foot building is an addition to the existing building and will provide classrooms, a media room and a meeting room. Victor J. Latavish designed the structure. Construction is expected to be complete in February.

• Brooks & Freund has completed construction of Riverside Bank, at 7331 College Parkway in Fort Myers. The 40,000-square-foot shell building offers medical and general office space. Brian Zimmerman of Avalon Engineering Inc. provided architectural design services.

• Brooks & Freund has started construction of the Renaissance Preserve. The project is an 120-unit senior housing facility for the Fort Myers Housing Authority located on Michigan Link Avenue in Fort Myers. Renaissance Preserve I LLLP is the developer. Fugleberg Koch Architects provided architectural design services. Construction is scheduled to be complete in April.

• Dr. William Barnes awarded Stevens Construction Inc. the contract to build the 7,310-square-foot Barnes Family Chiropractic office building. The 3,591-square-foot chiropractic office will include seven therapy rooms, three adjusting rooms, a massage room and an X-ray room. The remaining space will be available for lease.

• Fort Myers-based Sunshine Structures Inc. completed the structural concrete and masonry for general contractor Skanska USA on the four-story Gulf Coast Hospital located at 13681 Doctor's Way in Fort Myers. Sunshine Structures constructed all the concrete and masonry systems for the 420,000-square-foot building, using cast-in-place concrete, masonry block construction and lightweight concrete decks. Perkins + Will Architects designed the building.

• Joel and Dalton Prawl purchased a 10,000-square-foot vacant lot at 4017 Lee Blvd., Lehigh Acres, from Crosswinds Development LLC for $85,000. Dara Goren of The Szelest Team at Re/Max Realty Group Commercial Division handled the transaction.

Eagle Concrete Systems finishes work for East Elementary School

Eagle Concrete Systems Inc. has completed concrete and masonry work for the East Elementary School replacement project. Eagle Concrete used 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.

• LA Fitness leased more than an acre in the Gulf Coast Town Center, at 9903 Gulf Coast Drive in Fort Myers from R.E. Jacobs Group. Dave Conn of CB Richard Ellis, Tampa and Al Molin and Gary Dewey, both of CB Richard Ellis, Fort Myers-Naples brokered the transaction.

• TDM Consulting Inc. has been selected by Florida Specialists in Urology to provide civil engineering and planning services for the medical practice's new office. The proposed single-story building will be 8,500 square feet on a 1.4-acre outparcel in Del Tura Plaza. Del Tura Plaza is located along U.S. 41 in North Fort Myers.

JBM Realty Advisors

listing River Reach Apartments

JBM Realty Advisors has been retained to handle the sale of River Reach Apartments, a 556-unit, Class B, garden-style apartment community located in Naples. Jamie May, Eric Ammon and Melissa Cannata of JBM Realty Advisors, will be marketing the property for the owner, AIMCO.

River Reach Apartments features 36 two-story buildings with a net rentable area of a 503,656 square feet. The complex also houses two pools, a fitness center, lakeside jogging trail, lakeside pier, basketball court, volleyball court, fishing dock with boat launch, Gordon River waterfront, playground and boat parking.

sarasota-manatee by Sean Roth | Real Estate Editor

Health Care REIT funding Windsor facility in Venice

BUYER: Health Care REIT Inc., Toledo, Ohio

SELLER: Plantation Holdings LLP fka Plantation Holdings

PROPERTY: 1700 Center Road, Venice

PRICE: $1.16 million

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

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: Toledo, Ohio-based real estate equity investment firm Health Care REIT Inc. purchased several acres on Center Road west of Rockley Boulevard in Venice for $1.16 million. The acquisition was part of a sale-leaseback financing agreement with the developers of the Windsor assisted living facilities: Pete Russell, Cathy Layton, and Tim and Gail Buchanan. The financing was needed to allow the Windsor Senior Living Group to start development of a 68,000-square-foot, two-story assisted-living facility on the site, called The Windsor of Venice.

"We just broke ground," says Layton, who is also president and broker of Layton & Co. Inc. "It's going to have 84 apartments, 70 of which for assisted living and 14 for memory care. We're planning to have it done in October of 2009. It's based on the design of our one at Lakewood Ranch."

The facility will feature four different unit models of one-bedroom and studio apartments.

As scheduled, The Windsor of Venice will be the developers' sixth assisted living facility.

The Windsor Senior Living Group currently owns and operates The Windsor of Bradenton, The Windsor Oaks in Bradenton and The Windsor of Lakewood Ranch and broke ground land last month on The Windsor of Cape Coral and The Windsor of Ocala. Construction on a seventh Windsor is scheduled to start in the Palm Coast in the next three months.

As of June 30, Health Care REIT owns 635 senior housing and/or healthcare related real estate properties in 38 states.

Hide-Away Storage Services

planning Fruitville facility

Sarasota-based self-storage firm Hide-Away Storage Services Inc. has filed a site plan to develop a 33,304-square-foot Hide Away Express on 2.6 acres at the southeast corner of Claxstrauss Drive and Fruitville Road a mile east of Interstate 75.

"We're in the process of raising funds for this," says Steve Wilson, CEO and board chairman of Hide-Away Storage Services. Wilson's company plans to develop the self-storage facility without the need for on-site management through the use of a kiosk system. Cavoli Engineering Inc. is handling the engineering required for the facility's permitting approvals.

"We're not planning on being underway on this until the first half of next year, assuming the economy straitens things out," Wilson says.

Hide-Away Storage Services owns three self-storage facilities in Bradenton and Sarasota and one each in Ellenton, Fort Myers, Naples and St. Petersburg.

Spec Building Materials

buys Bradenton warehouse

BUYER: FL Stevenson LLC (principal: Mel Stevenson), Bradenton

SELLER: Cant Products Inc. formerly known as Cant Strip Manufacturing Inc.

PROPERTY: 701 Ninth Ave. E., Bradenton

PRICE: $1.41 million

LAW FIRM ON DEED: Grimes Goebel Grimes Hawkins Gladfelter & Galvano PL, Bradenton

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: Kansas City, Kan.-based building supply and roofing supply wholesaler Spec Building Materials/ Mel Stevenson & Associates Inc. purchased a 23,000-square-foot industrial warehouse on Ninth Avenue in Bradenton for $1.41 million. The purchase was part of that company's acquisition of three Florida stores in Bradenton, Venice and West Pensacola from the similar construction materials supply firm Construction Wholesale.

The Ninth Avenue East location features a 19,338-square-foot main building, a 2,080-square-foot covered storage structure and two open sheds areas.

Starwood Land Ventures

inks N.C.-acquisition deal

Bradenton-based residential real estate investment firm Starwood Land Ventures LLC has formed a joint venture with Raleigh, N.C.-based Landquest, a real estate holding company focused on residential mixed-use developments. LStar Land LLC, the new partnership, will pursue land development opportunities in Raleigh and Charlotte, N.C., through Starwood Land Ventures' commitment of $100 million.

Founded in 2000, Landquest specializes in residential development including the acquisition, design, permitting and construction of communities on the East Coast.

Starwood Land Ventures is focused on land acquisition, development and financing nationwide. The firm is a controlled affiliate of Greenwich, Conn.-based Starwood Capital Group Global LLC.

Etc...

• Newport News, Va.-based Ferguson Enterprises Inc. has opened a new 12,500-square-foot facility at 2451 17th Street in Sarasota. The new facility features a showroom housing the company's plumbing fixtures, lighting, appliances, cabinets and countertop products. Ferguson, part of Wolseley plc, is a wholesale distributor of plumbing supplies; pipes, valves and fittings; heating and cooling equipment; waterworks; mechanical and industrial; bathrooms and appliances; tools and safety equipment; and fire protection products.

• Brooks & Freund completed construction on the City of North Port Family Services Center located on Pan American Boulevard. The 15,000-square-foot facility houses a wide range of social services serving the City of North Port.

COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE TAMPA BAY by Sean Roth | Real Estate Editor

Kennedy Investments buys Hanna warehouse

BUYER: Hanna Warehouse Partners LLC (principals: Joseph Kennedy and Erin Bohacek), Tampa

SELLER: Roger and Lila Kumar as co-trustees of the Roger Kimar Revocable Trust

PROPERTY: 5100 W. Hanna Ave., Tampa

PRICE: $2.8 million

PREVIOUS PRICE: $3.06 million, June 2000

TITLE FIRM ON DEED: Title Acquisition I LLC, Tampa

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: Tampa real estate investment firm Kennedy Investments Inc. purchased a 72,000-square-foot industrial building on a two-acre site on Hanna Avenue for $2.8 million, equal to an average of $39 per square foot for building space.

Jan Boltres and Mike Scott at Grubb & Ellis | Commercial Florida's Tampa office handled the transaction. The new ownership has hired Boltres and Scott to lease up the building, which is currently vacant. Space in the building is being marketed for $4.25 a square foot.

Kennedy Investments owns several buildings in the Tampa and recently sold the 379,880-square-foot Fowler Distribution Center at 11316 46th St. N., Tampa.

The new owner plans to resurface the building exterior.

Kennedy Investments mortgaged the building to the former owners Roger and Lila Kumar as co-trustees of the Roger Kimar Revocable Trust for $2.24 million.

ProBuild Holdings

buys Plant City warehouse

BUYER: Pro-Build Real Estate Holdings LLC, Denver

SELLER: Centex Homes

PROPERTY: 4408 N. Airport Road, Plant City

PRICE: $4.35 million

PREVIOUS PRICE: $3 million, February 2005

LAW FIRM ON DEED: Baker Botts LLP, Dallas

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: Denver-based building material wholesaler/manufacturer ProBuild Holdings purchased an 86,274-square-foot industrial warehouse building from CTX Builders Supply, a manufacturer of wall panels, roof and floor trusses and a distributor of lumber, for $4.35 million, equal to an average of $50 a square foot. The Plant City facility was originally developed in 1984 and sits on a 16.7-acre site.

The acquisition was just one part of ProBuild Holdings' purchase of the assets of CTX. ProBuild acquired a total of six manufacturing and distribution centers - including the Plant City facility- located in Albermarle, N.C.; Buda, Texas; Carrollton, Texas; Phoenix; and Visalia, Calif.

"These properties are a great fit for ProBuild," says Carolyn Atkinson, director of marketing & communications for ProBuild Holdings. "It is a great fit for the three regions and this gives us our first opportunity in the Phoenix market. That Plant City location is particularly nice because it can feed a lot of our lumberyards."

Atkinson says the integration process for ProBuild is involved and that it will resolve any unnecessary duplication of services caused by the acquisition sometime later.

DEV Hospitality

buys Clearwater Wingate

BUYER: DEV Hospitality Inc. (principals: Mukund and Chandrika Patel), Clearwater

SELLER: C&J Hotel Enterprises LLC

PROPERTY: 5000 Lake Blvd., Clearwater

PRICE: $7 million

PREVIOUS PRICE: $6.35 million, June 2006

LAW FIRM ON DEED: Frazer Hubbard Brandt Trask & Yacavone LLP, Dunedin

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: Mukund and Chandrika Patel's hotel firm DEV Hospitality Inc. purchased the Wingate by Wyndham Clearwater hotel on Lake Boulevard for $7 million, equal to an average of $83,349 per room. The hotel features 81 guest rooms and three suites.

The hotel's amenities include a fitness center, outdoor pool, indoor whirlpool, business center, two meeting rooms for a total of 625 square feet and laundry facilities.

The new owners did not return repeated calls for comment.

DEV Hospitality mortgaged the hotel to Regions Bank for $5.75 million.

ETC...

• Sunshine Structures Inc. has begun the structural concrete on the new Generations Christian Church at 1530 Little Road in New Port Richey. Creative Contractors, the general contractor, awarded Sunshine Structures the contract to complete all the structural concrete work for the 61,000-square-foot church using cast-in-place concrete and steel-reinforced tilt-wall construction. Hoffman Architects designed the building.

• Sunshine Structures Inc. completed the structural concrete work for general contractor Marshall Erdman & Associates on the three-story Medical Facility located at Colonial Center Drive in Fort Myers. Sunshine Structures constructed all the concrete for the 81,300-square-foot building, using cast-in-place concrete and tilt-wall construction. Marshall Erdman & Associates designed the building.

Road, Shops at Wiregrass,

set to open in October

The first phase of the 3.5-mile State Road 56 extension, which serves as an entrance to Wiregrass Ranch in Wesley Chapel, will open in late October for the planned opening of the Shops at Wiregrass, the 750,000-square foot retail center developed by the Goodman Co. of West Palm Beach and Forest City Enterprises of Cleveland.

Anchor tenants in the Shops at Wiregrass include J.C. Penney, Dillards, and Macy's, and 90% of the space in the Shops at Wiregrass has been leased.

The 5,022-acre Wiregrass Ranch mixed-use development is located at the northeast corner of S.R. 56 and Bruce B. Downs Boulevard.

Ultimately, Wiregrass Ranch will accommodate 16,000 homes with more than two million square feet of commercial space.

• Harkins Development Corp. and general contracting division of Orlando-based Harkins Cos., are finishing up their work on the new $2.4-million, three-building, 12,000-square-foot Bright Horizons Family Solutions childcare and early education center at 5171 Cypress Preserve Drive in Tampa Palms. The project features three 4,000-square-foot buildings as well as site improvements and a swimming pool. Rojo Architects, Tampa designed the project.

• Tampa Bay resident Thomas Bible is launching VIP Executive Realty LLC, a commercial real estate brokerage firm with a focus on office, industrial and investment properties. After a decade as a marketing consultant, Bible began his real estate career as Florida Research Director with CB Richard Ellis. He then served as a sales and leasing associate with Colliers Arnold, after which he spent three years training brokers on how to better use research and marketing. A graduate of MIT's Real Estate Market Economics, Bible plans to expand his firm to twelve agents.

• Walbridge's Florida office in Tampa reports the company has received a contract to construct seven buildings at the new Panama City Bay County International Airport in Bay County. The contract includes a new 120,000-square-foot terminal building, an air traffic control tower, rental car facilities, public safety building, maintenance facility, utility building and an air-cargo building.