St. Louis area's ElmTree Funds buys Comcast call center building

BUYER: ET Fort Myers LLC (manager: James Koman), Clayton, Mo.
SELLER: Eastlinks Associates LLC
PROPERTY: 12641 Corporate Lakes Drive, Fort Myers
PRICE: $12.4 million
PREVIOUS PRICE: $5.74 million, June 2008
LAW FIRM ON DEED: Henderson Franklin Starnes & Holt PA, Fort Myers

PLANS, DESCRIPTION:
An affiliate of ElmTree Funds of Clayton, Mo., purchased a 57,260-square-foot flex building in Eastlinks Business Park for $12.4 million.

The price equated to $217 per square foot. That figure is higher than the two-year average price per square foot for industrial space ($90) in Southwest Florida, according to the CoStar Group.

The 7-year-old building is leased to Comcast for a call center. Comcast recently signed a new 10-year triple-net lease, which obligates the tenant to pay the property tax, insurance and maintenance and repair for the building.

The tilt-wall building features 18-foot-high ceilings, dock-high loading, three-phase power and underground utilities.

Matt Price of SW Management & Realty LLC represented the seller and Bob Schneiderman, executive vice president and managing director at DTZ, represented the buyer.

The private equity real estate investment firm focuses on commercial real estate net lease, sale-leaseback and build-to-suit investments.