Real estate trust buys two Benderson centers

BUYER: Inland Diversified Fort Myers Square LLC (Inland Diversified Real Estate Trust Inc.), Oak Brook, Ill.

SELLER: Colonial Square Associates LLC

PROPERTY: 9321-9377 Ben C. Pratt Six Mile Cypress Parkway, Fort Myers

PRICE: $36.85 million

PREVIOUS PRICE: $11.5 million, January 2007

BUYER: Inland Diversified Fort Myers Village Walk LLC (Inland Diversified Real Estate Trust Inc.), Oak Brook, Ill.

SELLER: Shops at Village Walk LLC

PROPERTY: 7950 Dani Drive, Fort Myers

PRICE: $13.15 million

PREVIOUS PRICE: $11.5 million, January 2007

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: Inland Real Estate Acquisitions Inc. purchased two retail shopping centers in Fort Myers from Benderson Development Co. for a minimum of $38.4 million.

Oak Brook, Ill.-based Inland acquired the 272,358-square-foot Colonial Square Town Center and the Publix-anchored, 78,835-square-foot Shops at Village Walk. Inland Real Estate Acquisitions, the acquisition wing of The Inland Real Estate Group of Co. Inc., purchased the property for the Inland Diversified Real Estate Trust Inc.

The acquisition agreements include incentives for leasing the 96,752 square feet of vacant space in the centers, which could increase the price up to $50 million. Inland is only required to pay more if the vacant space is leased within three years of the sale.

The purchase equated to $109 per square foot; it will be $142 per square foot if all the incentives are achieved

Anchored by Kohl's, Colonial Square Town Center houses 14 tenants, including Sports Authority, PetSmart, Dollar Tree, Famous Footwear and AT&T Mobility. Hobby Lobby is scheduled to join the center in January.

Shops at Village Walk's tenants include Eyeglass Works, Fantastic Sams, a nail salon, a flower shop and several restaurants.

Colonial Square Town Center was built in 2008. Shops at Village Walk was constructed in 2009.

“We still believe in the long-term growth in the state of Florida,” Barry Lazarus, president and chief operating officer of Inland Diversified, says in a press release. “The combination of a favorable business environment, the Sun Belt climate, the lack of state income tax and a reasonable cost of living make it a desirable place for people to live. Additionally, there is a lot of infrastructure in place in towns like Fort Myers that we believe will be developed as the economy improves.”

Inland Diversified funded the purchases through its equity offering and $10 million in additional borrowing. Inland Diversified Real Estate Services will manage both centers.

Inland Diversified Real Estate Trust focuses on acquiring and developing commercial real estate in the United States and Canada. As of June 30, Inland-sponsored companies owned and managed more than 121 million square feet of commercial real estate in 47 states and had managed assets valued at more than $25.4 billion.