Real Estate Briefs

Real Estate Briefs

SARASOTA/MANATEE

Equity One buys out

partner in Venice center

BUYER: Equity One Inc., Miami Beach

SELLER: John Mary Enterprises Ltd.

PROPERTY: 480, 470 and 500 N. U.S. 41, Venice

PRICE: $1.9 million

LAW FIRM ON DEED: Greenberg Traurig PA, Miami

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: Real estate investment trust Equity One Inc. purchased the Venice Plaza Shopping center away from a joint venture partner. The 148,779-square-foot shopping center is currently 99% leased and is anchored by Sweetbay Supermarket, T.J. Maxx, Blockbuster and Family Dollar. As of October, Equity One's portfolio consisted of 20 million square feet covering 194 properties, including 128 supermarket-anchored shopping centers, seven drug store-anchored shopping centers, 48 retail-anchored shopping centers, six development parcels and five non-retail properties.

O.E. Wheel Distributors

closes on warehouse

BUYER: O.E. Wheel Distributors LLC (manager James Moore), Sarasota

SELLER: Cookhouse LLC

PROPERTY: 2217 72nd Ave. E., Bradenton

PRICE: $1.15 million

PREVIOUS PRICE: $50,000, March 2004

LAW FIRM ON DEED: Icard Merrill Cullis Timm Furen & Ginsburg PA, Sarasota

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: Specialty-wheel retailer O.E. Wheel Distributors purchased a 15,000-square-foot warehouse in Centre Park Industrial Park and relocated from a space off Bee Ridge Road.

"We were looking for more space, but I couldn't find anything in Sarasota County," company president James Moore says.

"Everything I found down there, I would have had to gut to make it fit our uses. This was perfect. It's brand new, and it has a Sarasota address."

The company was required to lease the space from the former owner for a year before purchasing it. Moore says the building has room for a future 5,000 square foot expansion.

O.E. Wheel Distributors mortgaged the property to Community Bank of Manatee for $500,000.

Caithness Construction

acquires additional Venice land

BUYER: Caithness Construction Inc. (principals Mark and Paula Caithness), Nokomis

SELLER: Michael Embry

PROPERTY: property near Jackson Road, Venice

PRICE: $2.4 million

PREVIOUS PRICE: $28,200, October 1975

LAW FIRM ON DEED: Dooley & Drake PA, Sarasota

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: Nokomis-based Caithness Construction purchased 40 vacant acres on Jackson and Border Road, behind 60 acres the company already owns.

Mark Caithness says he plans to continue to use the property for agricultural uses, but eventually he plans to develop it.

Caithness Construction mortgaged the property to First State Bank for $1.92 million.

Baltic holdings buys

Baltic Apartments

BUYER: Baltic Holdings LLC, Rancho Mirage, Calif.

SELLER: Baltic Apartments I LLC

PROPERTY: 1670 and 1720 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Sarasota

PRICE: $3.9 million

PREVIOUS PRICE: $780,000, May 2003 and $821,143, November 2004

LAW FIRM ON DEED: Greene & Schermer, Bradenton

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: Prolific developer Reynold Glanz purchased the 60-unit Baltic Apartment complex on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Way. Terry Fine, of 41 West Realty Group Inc. and Glanz's agent for the transaction, declined to comment on the future of the development.

In April, Glanz purchased the 1,100-acre Cone cattle ranch in Parrish for $31 million. Glanz has announced plans to develop an about 2,000-unit residential development on the site. In 2004, Glanz bought the former Village Green Golf Course for $1.8 million and then resold it to another developer for $5 million.

Currently in Bradenton, Glanz plans to develop the 136-unit, 17-building Hidden Lake Condominiums, on Manatee Avenue, west of 63rd Street West.

Etc...

• The Sarasota County Commission has approved a budget amendment appropriating $2.95 million to purchase Snook Haven and maintain it for the remainder of the county's 2006 fiscal year, through Sept. 30; the Commission approved a contract for the purchase of Snook Haven at its Nov. 16 meeting.

Snook Haven, 5000 East Venice Ave., Venice, is a fishing camp on the Myakka River. The county plans to maintain the current amenities on the site, including a casual restaurant featuring live music and other entertainment. Sarasota County Parks and Recreation plan to outsource the restaurant operation.

"The board's decision allows this unique slice of old Florida to be preserved for years to come," says John McCarthy, general manager of Sarasota County Parks and Recreation. "Sarasota County residents and visitors have told us repeatedly that they value the recreational opportunities and experiences that are rapidly disappearing in our increasingly urbanized environment."

• Ryland Homes will open two new model homes priced in the $400,000 range at Oakleaf Hammock, a luxury community off of Mendoza Road in Manatee County.

Pierre deAmezola, sales and marketing manager for Ryland Homes in the Tampa Bay region, says the St. James II model home offers 2,812 square feet of living space in a four bedroom design with a bonus room, priced around $440,000. The St. Charles II model home offers four bedrooms and a loft in 3,551 square feet of living space, priced in the high $480,000 range.

Only two inventory homes remain for sale in the first phase at Oakleaf Hammock, and Ryland plans development of 57 home sites in a second phase in the spring.

• Bradenton's Pinnacle Medical Group, a multi-specialty medical practice, has announced expansion plans. In phase one, it plans to build a new two-story medical office building at 7005 Cortez Road West.

The 18,000-square-foot facility will provide family practice and specialty-care services, and is expected to open in August 2006. Phase two calls for the medical practice to expand its existing Urgent Care Center, located at 315 75th Street West. Expected to open in December, the 16,000-square-foot expansion will provide for more internal medicine and specialty-care services.

Pinnacle Medical Group, founded in 1998, offers primary care, urgent care and diagnostic, surgical, and other specialties.

LEE/COLLIER

New York developer buys Fort Myers apartments

BUYER: Reflection Lakes Tarragon LLC

SELLER: Reflection Cove LLC and Reflection Equities LLC

PROPERTY: Apartments at Reflections Parkway, Fort Myers

PRICE: $64 million

ATTORNEY ON DEED: Ruden, McClosky, Smith, Schuster & Russell, P.A., Fort Lauderdale

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: Tarragon Corp., a New York City-based urban homebuilder, bought The Promenade at Reflection Lakes, a 360-unit apartment complex near the intersection of Summerlin Road and Cypress Lake Drive in Fort Myers.

Although company officials couldn't be reached to discuss specifics for Reflection Lakes, Tarragon bought several apartment complexes in Southwest Florida in 2005 with plans to convert them to condominiums. Among them: Monterra in Bonita Springs (244 apartments), The Tradition at Palm Aire in Sarasota (248 apartments), Cordoba Beach Park in Tampa (166 apartments), Oxford Place in Tampa (298 apartments), and The Quarter at Ybor City in Tampa (362 apartments).

Tarragon specializes in high-density urban developments and its stock is a publicly traded company (symbol TARR). It has 14,600 homes under development and in its pipeline. These include high-rise towers, mid-rise condos, townhomes and mixed-used developments. The company has regional offices in Jacksonville, Fort Lauderdale and Orlando.

Reflection Lakes Tarragon mortgaged the property to Barclay's Capital Real Estate for $51.2 million.

Miami-based company buys two apartment complexes

BUYER: Salamanca Pointe LLC and Aliente Gardens LLC

SELLER: A1-LH DB, LP

PROPERTY: 6308 Panther Lane and 2346 Winkler Ave., Fort Myers

PRICE: Two transactions totaling $39 million

PREVIOUS PRICE: $22 million, June 2003

ATTORNEY ON DEED: King & Spalding, LLP, Atlanta

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: A Miami-based company bought two apartment complexes in Fort Myers for a total of $39 million. The first complex is the 200-unit Island Breeze apartment complex at 6308 Panther Lane and the other is the 240-unit Regency Park complex at 2346 Winkler Avenue. The limited-liability company's managing member, Juan Puig, could not be reached for comment.

Salamanca Pointe mortgaged the Island Breeze property to Ocean Bank for $22.2 million and Aliente Gardens mortgaged Regency Park to Ocean Bank for $19.9 million.

Miami Lakes-based developer plans homes in Lehigh Acres

BUYER: Whispering Lakes II LLC

SELLER: Watermen-Sunrise 80 LLC

PROPERTY: 80 acres in Lehigh Acres

PRICE: $11.1 million

ATTORNEY ON DEED: Henderson, Franklin, Starnes & Holt, PA, Fort Myers

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: Miami Lakes-based homebuilder Pride Rock Development Group bought 80 acres next to 120 acres it bought last year in Lehigh Acres for a 568-home gated community it will call Verona. The development is located near Sunrise Boulevard and Richmond Avenue.

"We're looking to start breaking ground sometime during the summer," says Jorge Feria, Pride Rock's director of marketing. The first phase will include 280 single-family homes and the second phase will include 288 homes. Although prices have not yet been established, prices for its models start in the low $300,000 range.

Whispering Lakes II mortgaged the property to Ocean Bank for $7.3 million.

Etc...

• Liddell Family Trust bought office and warehouse buildings totaling 128,000 square feet at 11803 Metro Parkway in Fort Myers from 4-M Properties for $6.5 million. Robert Johnston and Jerry Messonnier of CB Richard Ellis negotiated the transaction.

• Freshpoint West Coast Florida leased 27,244 square feet in Alico Commerce Center at 7916 Drew Circle in Fort Myers from Carroll Partnership LLP. Robert Johnston and Jerry Messonnier of CB Richard Ellis negotiated the transaction.

• Spectrum Contracting leased 10,000 square feet at 13831 Jetport Commerce Parkway in Fort Myers from 4-M Properties. Robert Johnston and Jerry Messonnier of CB Richard Ellis negotiated the transaction.

• Kenco Group leased 4,800 square feet of industrial space at 12771 Westlinks Drive in Fort Myers from Cambridge Management Associates LP. Robert Johnston and Jerry Messonnier of CB Richard Ellis negotiated the transaction.

• Fort Myers-based Stevens Construction won a contract to build the St. Marks Surgical Center in Fort Myers. The 9,290-square-foot facility will include three operating rooms, recovery beds and office space. Groundbreaking is scheduled for March with completion in December.