Realty Financial Corp. buys Commons at Twin Lakes

BUYER: Twin Lakes Plaza LLC (principal: William McKenna Jr.), Upper Montclair, N.J.
SELLER: Commons at Twin Lakes Associates LLC
PROPERTY: 31918 and 31988 U.S. 19 N., Palm Harbor
PRICE: $8.4 million
PREVIOUS PRICE: $1.52 million, October 1993
LAW FIRM ON DEED: Carlton Fields PA, Tampa

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: Realty Financial Corp. purchased the 53,000-square-foot Commons at Twin Lakes retail center for $8.4 million.

The price equated to $158 per square foot. That figure is higher than the two-year average price per square foot for retail space ($146) in the Tampa Bay area, according to the CoStar Group.

An Outback Steakhouse anchors the Palm Harbor center. It also features Massimo's Eclectic Fine Dining, North Pinellas Children's Medical Center and Select Medical Rehab.

The 6.1-acre Commons at Twin Lakes was 98% occupied at the time of the sale and nearly two-thirds of the tenants have been in the center for more than 10 years.

Mike Milano and Ron Schultz of Colliers International Tampa Bay represented the seller, a company led by Anthony and Kazuko Ficara. Jim Michalak of Plaza Advisors Inc. represented the buyer.

“The buyer was looking for a well-located, well-positioned asset in a strong demographic market, and Commons at Twin Lakes fit its needs extremely well,” Milano says in a press release.

The buyer mortgaged the property to Genworth Life and Annuity Insurance Co. for $4.5 million.