Real Estate Briefs

Real Estate Briefs

SARASOTA/MANATEE

American Retirement Corp. pays $95 million for Freedom Village

BUYER: Freedom Village Bradenton LLC, Brentwood, Tenn.

SELLER: Westport Holdings Bradenton Limited Partnership

PROPERTY: 6501 17th Ave. Court W., Bradenton

PRICE: $95 million (deed reports $85 million)

LAW FIRM ON DEED: Gary Dytrych & Ryan PA, North Palm Beach

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: Brentwood, Tenn.-based American Retirement Corp. purchased the Freedom Village in Bradenton for $95 million plus additional resident refund liabilities. Freedom Village contains 500 independent living retirement apartments, a 140-bed assisted living facility and a 120 bed nursing facility.

The company completed the acquisition through a joint venture owned 20% by American Retirement and 80% by investors in a senior housing strategy fund managed by Prudential Real Estate Investors, the investment management arm of Prudential Financial Inc.

Capmark Bank provided about $62 million of senior mortgage debt financing for the transaction.

American Retirement currently operates 83 senior living communities in 19 states.

"We believe the purchase price was not out of the realm for a large campus in a great location that is doing well," says Ross Roadman, spokesperson for American Retirement. "There is still room there to increase the occupancy."

A fully occupied Freedom Village would house about 900 people.

AutoMaxx owner buys

dealership, nearby land

BUYER: Leedom Management Group Inc. (Chris Leedom), Sarasota

SELLER: Mary Ann Tellez, Richard Theilen, Lois Kiehl and JBD Charitable Remainder Unitrust

PROPERTY: 8490 and 8450 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota

PRICE: $1.5 million

LAW FIRM ON DEED: Norton Hammersley Lopez & Skokos PA, Sarasota

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: Sarasota-based Leedom and Associates LLC, which owns an AutoMaxx used car dealership in Sarasota, purchased the current dealership site and the former Thrifty Car Rental franchise location next door. AutoMaxx has been leasing its space for about three years, says Leedom and Associates president Chris Leedom. When Thrifty went bankrupt, Leedom leased that site, too. Leedom says the company plans to renovate the two-acre site.

Paradise Communities prepares start of Valencia at Burns

BUYER: MSM-East Ave. Holdings Ltd., Safety Harbor

SELLER: P. Wallenberg Development Co. Inc.

PROPERTY: 2100 and 2150 1st St. and 32 N. East Ave., Sarasota

PRICE: $3.45 million

PREVIOUS PRICE: $485,000, August 1999

SELLER: Challenge Properties II Inc.

PROPERTY: 19, 27 and 29 Audubon Place and 2170 First St., Sarasota

PRICE: $2.3 million

PREVIOUS PRICE: $140,000, February 2001 and $225,000, December 1998

LAW FIRM ON DEED: Forlizzo Law Group PA, Safety Harbor

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: Safety Harbor-based Paradise Communities purchased two homes, a 7,500-square-foot commercial building and an additional 1.5 acres of vacant land in downtown Sarasota. Paradise Communities plans to develop the site as the $30-million Valencia at Burns Square, a mixture of 16 condominiums, 24 townhomes and 3,200 square feet of commercial space.

"The idea was to build smaller units to keep the price points down for young professionals," says Mike McCanless of the Paradise Development Group. "If it were built under current construction costs, it would start in the high $300,000 range."

The development is being listed by SKY Sotheby's, which just opened a sales office for the development at 606 South Pineapple Ave., Sarasota.

Groundbreaking and site development is scheduled to start this summer, with occupancy expected by the fall of 2007.

Paradise Communities mortgaged the property to LaSalle Bank NA for $4.39 million.

Etc...

• Target Builders of Fort Myers and Power Contracting of Palmetto have retained Sarasota-based Diversified Construction Safety, Inc. to supply safety services for their upcoming projects. DCS provides site inspections, safety training, accident investigation and safety programs to construction projects.

• Ron Travis and Dave Coupland, real estate brokers and owners of RE/MAX Gulfstream Realty, expect to open their new 16,500 square-foot, headquarters at 3007 Manatee Ave., W., Bradenton, later this month. The firm currently has more than 180 associates in five offices, and plans to end the year with 250. Its four other offices are in Holmes Beach, Lakewood Ranch, Sarasota, and Ellenton.

• S. S. Appel and Co. acquired a site for its first Manor House Inns and Suites. The company purchased 2.3 acres near State road 70 and Tara Boulevard, just west of I-75. The Inn will be a condominium hotel, offering a portion of the units for sale to individual and corporate owners. The Manor House Inns and Suites will be part of the Tara Commercial Office Park. Prices for the 19 hotel/condo units range from $172,000 to $315,000. A rental program will be available for owners who want to use their units as a second home during certain times of the year.

Construction of the 77-room hotel is slated to start later this summer. It's scheduled to open in the summer of 2007.

LEE/COLLIER

North Naples Storage owner buys land for more growth

BUYER: North Naples Storage II LLC (Daniel Commers), St. Paul, Minn.

SELLER: Nancy Manis, Trustee

PROPERTY: 14970 Old 41, Naples

PRICE: $3.8 million

PREVIOUS PRICE: $250,000, October 1999,

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: Roseville Properties Management Co., which owns North Naples Storage, purchased about 9 acres on Old 41. The property is mostly vacant, but also features a small office building with showroom space. The company plans to renovate the building and develop outdoor storage on the back four acres, according to Daniel Commers, president of Roseville Properties Management.

North Naples Storage II LLC mortgaged the property to 21st Century Bank for $3.9 million.

Roseville Properties is developing two 35,000-square-foot office showrooms in Punta Gorda, near the Port Charlotte Airport. Bob Sifrit, an agent with Re/Max Harbor Realty, is listing that project.

Waterman Development Group

acquires Lehigh Acres land

BUYER: Villages at Homestead LLC (Eddy Garcia and David Kraizgrun), Miami Lakes

SELLER: Homestead Road LLC

PROPERTY: property on Homestead Road, Lehigh Acres

PRICE: $11.97 million

PREVIOUS PRICE: $8.4 million, February 2005 (included an additional parcel)

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: Waterman Development Group purchased 126 acres on Homestead Road, Lehigh Acres, for $11.97 million. Waterman officials did not return calls seeking comment, but the residential developer recently announced plans to expand its geographic focus from South Florida to include the Gulf Coast.

Also, in November, the company purchased 2,900 acres off Interstate 95 in St. Johns County for $45.6 million. Frank D'Alessandro & Tom Woodyard of D'Al-essandro & Woodyard Inc. Commercial Realtors negotiated the transaction.

Waterman Development Group mortgaged the property to Regions Bank for $7.65 million.

Emergency Consultants

buys home for subsidiary

BUYER: ECI Healthcare Properties LLC, Traverse City, Mich.

SELLER: Cardinal Fowler LLC

PROPERTY: 4350 Fowler St., Fort Myers

PRICE: $5.6 million

PREVIOUS PRICE: $4.38 million, July 2004

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: Traverse City, Mich.-based Emergency Consultants Inc. purchased a 45,439-square-foot single-story building on Fowler Street; one of it's subsidiary companies, Apollo Information Services Inc., has occupied the space for about five years.

Apollo, which leases 21,000 square feet in the building, has been looking to grow, says human resources director John Mantica. Now the company will just take over additional space to meet its needs as other tenants leave. Mantica says the company is in talks with architects about renovating or improving the 26-year-old building.

Apollo Information Services, which employees 196 people, is the medical billing arm for Emergency Consultants, a company that handles physician recruiting, staffing and management for hospital emergency departments.

Etc...

• Magshore, LLC purchased about 1.5 acres known as Parcel D at the Daniels Parkway Business Center, across the street from Bella Rosa's Italian Restaurant, from Salrose Dreams II LLP for $1.2 million. A new franchise called Java Moon restaurant is scheduled to open there in the first quarter of 2007.

• Falcon Commercial Development started construction on a new Sweetbay Supermarket-anchored shopping center called the Shoppes at Pelican Preserve. The 51,000-square-foot supermarket will be at the intersection of Colonial Boulevard and the Treeline Avenue Extension, east of Interstate 75. The shopping center will feature over 36,000 square feet of retail space.

The first phase of construction, which will include the Sweetbay Supermarket, is scheduled to be completed in the first quarter of 2007. D'Alessandro & Woodyard Inc., Commercial Realtors is listing the development.

• Training and Manufacturing Institute Inc. announced that it has received fast-track permitting and is prepared to break ground on the first multi-flex commercial building at the Tradeport Technology Park in Immokalee. When completed, the facility will offer 30,000 square feet of office, warehouse and manufacturing space.

• First Merchant Payment Systems leased 8,316 square feet of office space at 12800 University Drive, Fort Myers, from Simplex Grinnell LP. Noreen Caldwell of Coldwell Banker Commercial NRT and Tom Peppitone of D'Alessandro & Woodyard handled the transaction.

• Hurst Awning leased 15,000 square feet of light industrial space at 2269 Palm Ave., Fort Myers, from Palm Avenue LLC. John Humphrey and Ann Crandall, both of Coldwell Banker Commercial NRT, handled the transaction.

• Florida Cooling Supply Inc. leased 33,000 square feet of industrial space at 10995 Metro Parkway, Fort Myers from Calvin D. Wible. Randal L. Mercer of CB Richard Ellis Fort Myers-Naples represented the landlord and Jim Boback of ReMax Realty Group represented the tenant.

• Dunhill Holdings, Inc. leased a 4,000-square-foot office at 11300 Lindbergh Blvd., Fort Myers, from Dogwood Development Inc. Tim Colen of D'Alessandro & Woodyard, Inc. Commercial Realtors negotiated the transaction.

• Department of Business and Professional Regulation leased 6,252 square feet of office space in the Metro Park Business Plaza, 4110 Centerpointe Drive, Fort Myers, from Citec Florida, LLC. Scott Miller and Derek Bornhorst of CB Richard Ellis, Fort Myers-Naples, represented the landlord and Kim Colquitt of Staubach Co. represented the tenant.

TAMPA BAY

Equity One acquires Sunpoint Shopping Center

BUYER: Equity One Florida Portfolio Inc. (Chaim Katzman, Doron Valero, Howard Sipzner and Arthur Gallagher), North Miami Beach

SELLER: Sunpoint LLC

PROPERTY: State Road 674 and College Avenue, Ruskin

PRICE: $7.5 million

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: Shopping-center developer and manager Equity One Inc. purchased the 132,374-square-foot Sunpoint Shopping Center in Ruskin as part of a $23.4 million acquisition of three Florida shopping centers, including Alafaya Village and Chapel Trail Plaza. Sunpoint Shopping Center is anchored by a 30,625-square-foot Bealls, a 10,356-square-foot Goodwill and a 9,500-square-foot Dove Carpets. Equity One officials say they were attracted to the center's location because of South Tampa's continued significant growth.

Equity One owns or has interest in 198 properties totaling 20.4 million square feet.

Lowe Enterprises Real Estate

acquires Land O' Lake property

BUYER: Lo Land Assets LP (principal Le Land Assets LLC), Irvine, Calif.

SELLER: Windsor Lakes Inc.

PROPERTY: 8707 and 8703 Land O Lakes Blvd., Land O' Lakes

PRICE: $41.7 million

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: Lowe Enterprises Real Estate Group purchased 551 acres in Land O' Lakes. The company did not return calls seeking a comment on the deal. Lowe Enterprises, which employs more than 8,000 people, has developed, acquired or managed more than $7 billion of real estate assets.

First Community Bank

sells buildings, leases them back

BUYER: Levett Realty Enterprises -Pinellas Park (Gertrude Levett), St. Petersburg

SELLER: First Community Bank America

PROPERTY: 9001 Belcher Road, Pinellas Park and 6100 Fourth St. N., St. Petersburg

PRICE: $6 million

PREVIOUS PRICE: $475,000, August 2001

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: St. Petersburg-based Levett Realty Enterprises Inc. purchased two buildings from First Community Bank of America, including the bank's former office headquarters in Pinellas Park. The bank has agreed to lease back the 13,444-square-foot properties.

That acquisition breaks out to $446 per square foot.

Etc...

• Parksite Inc. renewed its 25,000-square-foot lease at 8108 Krauss Blvd., Tampa, with Weingarten Realty Investors. Rian Smith and Mike Davis negotiated the lease on behalf of the owner.

• TIAA-CREF, a financial brokerage service, leased 7,270 square feet of office space at Hidden River Corporate Center Three, 14055 Riveredge Drive, Tampa, from H. River Three Owner, LLC. Sharon Bragg, with Crescent Resources LLC in Tampa, represented the landlord

• Rivergate Steakhouse Co. LLC leased 7,912 square feet at Rivergate Tower, 400 North Ashley Drive, Tampa, from ACP/Pinnacle, LLC. Rivergate plans to open Malio's Prime Steakhouse in the atrium lobby along the riverfront in October. John Fish and Jim Paladino with Cushman & Wakefield of Florida Inc. negotiated the lease on behalf of the landlord.

• American Engineering Services Inc. leased 23,800 square feet at Sabal Park Distribution Center in Tampa from Prologis. American Engineering Services provides water and wastewater treatment systems and services. Rian Smith and Mike Davis of Cushman & Wakefield negotiated the lease on behalf of the tenant.

• 7750 Professional Place LLC, Wesley Chapel, purchased VSI Real Estate Holdings Inc. of Lakeland for $1.83 million, or roughly $80.05 per square foot. Built in 1985 on 3.56 acres, 7750 Professional Place is a 22,808-square-foot industrial building on 301 Industrial Park in Tampa. Jeff Bardin of GVA Advantis represented the buyer and CB Richard Ellis represented the seller.

• Orlando-based Park Square Homes, a 22-year-old home builder and community developer, plans to expand to Hillsborough County next year. Company officials say Park Square Homes will acquire home sites in two active communities in the county. The firm will also expand operations on Florida's east coast sometime in 2007 or 2008, likely to an area near Daytona Beach or Jacksonville.

• Patterson Freight Systems Inc. leased 12,000 square feet in the Tampa International Center in Tampa from Tampa Adamo M/T, LLC, c/o Panattoni Development Co. Chris Sass of Cushman & Wakefield negotiated the lease on behalf of the landlord.

• Associated Printing and Services Inc. leased 11,192 square feet at Eisenhower Technology Park, 710 Eisenhower Blvd. in Tampa, from ARA Properties No. 3 Ltd., c/o Peter Lawrence Commercial Real Estate Inc. Mike Davis, Rian Smith and Chris Sass of Cushman & Wakefield negotiated the lease on behalf of the owner.