Real Estate Briefs

Real Estate Briefs

by Sean Roth | Real Estate Editor

SARASOTA/MANATEE

AutoNation planning Mercedes dealership

BUYER: AN Luxury Imports of Sarasota Inc. (principals: James Bender and Wesley Pandoff), Sarasota

SELLER: SRH Hunt Inc.

PRICE: $6.02 million

SELLER: Cheshire Hunt Inc.

PRICE: $2.82 million

SELLER: Palmer Ranch Holdings Ltd.

PRICE: $11,600

PROPERTY: Sawyer Loop Road and 1 and 2 Block C, Palmer Park of Commerce, Sarasota

PREVIOUS PRICE: $8,290,200, August 1997 and $535,000, October 1998

LAW FIRM ON DEED: John F. Cook PA, Sarasota

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: Fort Lauderdale-based AutoNation Inc. purchased a 10-acre parcel east of the Livingston's Amusement Center on the south side of Clark Road in Sarasota from Palmer Ranch Holdings for $8.85 million or $885,000 an acre. The property is planned as the new home of the Mercedes-Benz of Sarasota dealership, which currently occupies a five-acre space at 6828 S. Tamiami Trail. Lexus, Jaguar, Land Rover and BMW all currently operate dealerships on Clark Road.

Darrin Chrisman, general manager of Mercedes-Benz of Sarasota, explained the move as part of a greater shift from U.S. 41 as the main spine for the region to Interstate 75.

The new dealership facility is expected to resemble the current Mercedes-Benz dealership in Fort Lauderdale, although that site is only seven acres.

Port Charlotte buyers take over North Port building

BUYER: UB Properties LLC (Bala and Usha Nandigam), Port Charlotte

SELLER: 12500 Pineplaza Corp.

PROPERTY: 12500 S. Tamiami Trail, North Port

PRICE: $2 million

PREVIOUS PRICE: $720,000, May 2005 and $400,000, June 2005

TITLE FIRM ON DEED: Executive Title Insurance Services Inc., Port Charlotte

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: Bala and Usha Nandigam's UB Properties LLC purchased a 6,086-square-foot free-standing retail building for $2 million. The building, on a 2.85 acres, was built in 1975 according to research from the CoStar Group. UB Properties LLC mortgaged the building to SunTrust Bank for $1.2 million.

Etc...

• The Gibraltar Cos. which includes Gibraltar Homes, Gibraltar Properties and Gibraltar Realty, will move all business operations to its new $12 million Lakewood Ranch corporate headquarters at 8470 Enterprise Circle. The building was designed by Don Lawson, principal of the Lawson Group, Inc. and constructed by Jackson & Associates.

The new location will provide the luxury homebuilder and developer more than 13,500 square feet for operations and will also accommodate their new 3,500-square-foot design studio.

The new building will also be home to the Bank of Commerce and the Sarasota-based law firm of Icard Merrill Cullis Timm Furen & Ginsburg PA.

• Anthony Miciotta and Marvin Kaplan's Devonshire Park LLC broke ground on a 26-home residential community in Sarasota's Laurel Park Neighborhood between Alderman and Oak streets in downtown Sarasota. The new maintenance-free community is being targeted as an alternative to condominium living in the center of Sarasota.

The homes will range from 1,900 to about 3,000 square feet and are being marketed for sale from the $900,000s. Completion of the project is scheduled for the end of 2007. SKY Sotheby's International Realty's agents John Brazelton and Courtney Piana will manage sales of the new community.

Lee/Collier

Two automotive insiders plan Infiniti dealership

BUYER: Infiniti of Ft. Myers LLC (principal: John Williams), Duluth, Ga.

SELLER: Brothers Development - Gladiolus LLC

PROPERTY: Vacant commercial with no assigned address, SEC 26-45S-24E, Fort Myers

PRICE: $3.5 million

PREVIOUS PRICE: $1.85 million, July 2005

LAW FIRM ON DEED: Squire Sanders & Dempsey LLP, Tampa

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: John Williams, owner and operator of the Toyota Mall of Georgia auto dealership in Buford, Ga., and Andy Perez, of the automotive-support company JM&A Group of Deerfield Beach, purchased 4.7 acres of vacant commercial land in Fort Myers fronting Tamiami Trail for a planned Infinity dealership. The Fort Myers location is the first Infinity-branded dealership for both partners. The partners previously worked together at Southeast Toyota Distributors.

According to company officials with the Toyota Mall of Georgia, the partners are currently developing architectural and site plans. The new dealership, which is expected to be full-service, is scheduled to open in January 2008.

The new owners mortgaged the vacant property to Wachovia Bank NA for $3.4 million.

California investors buy Fort Myers CVS

BUYER: (40%) Altos Ft. Myers LLC (principal: Venkat Ramasamy), (40%) Scotia Ft. Myers CVS LLC (principal: Audrey Kim) and (20%) FM Palm Beach LLC (principal: Kyung Rhie), Los Altos, Calif.

SELLER: Pivo Ft. Myers Shores LLC

PROPERTY: 14411 Palm Beach Blvd., Fort Myers

PRICE: $2.52 million

LAW FIRM ON DEED: Barry Alan Wilen, Esq., Hollywood

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: Venkat Ramasamy's Altos Ft. Myers LLC, Audrey Kim's Scotia Ft. Myers CVS LLC and Kyung Rhie's FM Palm Beach LLC, all of California, purchased an 11,264-square-foot CVS/pharmacy drug store in Fort Myers for $2.52 million. CoStar Group research shows the building, constructed in 1997, occupies a 1.5-acre parcel.

Etc...

• Lee County Utilities recently awarded a design-build contract to Broomfield, Colo.-based MWH for the expansion of the Gateway Wastewater Treatment Plant in Fort Myers. Under the $40 million contract, MWH will provide design and construction services for a three-phase expansion to increase plant capacity from 1 million gallons per day to 6 million gallons per day .

Phase I of the expansion will include the construction of a new force main and extended aeration treatment process to operate in parallel with the existing treatment plant. Phase II of the expansion will include doubling the Phase I treatment capacity. MWH will provide value engineering of existing Phase I design work, design modifications, detailed design of the Phase II expansion and construction management-at-risk services. Lee County Utilities provides wastewater services to more than 200,000 residents.

• Fort Myers-based Stevens Construction Inc. completed the interior buildout of the Retina Health Center at 2230 Venetian Court in Naples. The single-story facility provides 5,211 square feet for the ophthalmology practice of Dr. Alexander Eaton and Dr. Hussein Wafapoor. The remaining 2,481 square feet is being listed for lease. Ken Aliff of Architecture One Inc. designed the interior space specifically for the needs of visually impaired patients.

• Adam Smith's 382 Building Development LLC purchased the And So To Bed home-accessories store at 382 12th Ave. S., Naples from Henry and Jane Eckert for $2 million. The new owner mortgaged the property to AmSouth Bank for $1.5 million.

• Fort Myers-based J.L. Wallace Inc. started construction to renovate the clubhouse at the Naples Heritage Golf and Country Club, a private country club community at 8150 Heritage Club Way in Naples. The renovation will update and expand the current facility. The project calls for a 4,833-square-foot addition to the 18,877-square-foot clubhouse, including the addition of a dining room, cart barn and grill room. The project also will include renovation of the kitchen, storage, restrooms, dining room, office and exercise room. Construction is scheduled for completion in spring of 2007.

• Pompano Beach-based Eastern Waste Systems Inc., using the limited liability company Coral Development of Fort Myers LLC, purchased multi-family and industrial land at 4565 and 4563 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Fort Myers from Timothy Lewis as trustee of the Timothy Lewis Trust and Ernest Weathers for $1.45 million. Coral Development of Fort Myers LLC mortgaged the property to Sterling Bank for $942,500.

Tampa Bay

KBS REIT purchases Sabal Pavilion

BUYER: KBS Sabal Pavilion LLC (KBS REIT Acquisition II LLC), Newport Beach, Calif.

SELLER: NCFLA II Owner LLC

PROPERTY: 3620 Queen Palm Drive, Tampa

PRICE: $24.25 million

PREVIOUS PRICE: $22.73 million, July 2005

LAW FIRM ON DEED: Greenberg Traurig PA, Orlando

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: Newport Beach, Calif.-based KBS Realty Advisors' KBS Real Estate Investment Trust purchased the 120,500-square-foot, four-story office building Sabal Pavilion in East Tampa from Capital Partner for $24.25 million. The acquisition is the first property purchase by KBS REIT, a new real estate investment trust created as an affiliate of KBS Realty.

Built in 1998, the building is completely leased to Ford Motor Credit Co., one of the world's largest auto financing companies.

The building is located in Tampa's premier Sabal Park, the largest mixed-use business park on the West Coast of Florida, according to CB Richard Ellis.

"It's a newer property that was designed for use by multiple tenants, which gives us a great flexibility," says Peter Doherty, senior VP of KBS Realty Advisors, who served as a point man for the Sabal acquisition. "There's also the quality of tenant. Fort Motor Credit Co. is a huge entity that I understand feels it is a particularly good location because of the access to a bilingual employee pool. Finally, it's the underlying economic dynamics of the Tampa market, which has experienced significant job growth, low unemployment and very little office vacancy."

KBS REIT will put about 70% of its money in properties and the other 30% in debt products such as mezzanine loans to other real estate owners and developers.

KBS Sabal Pavilion LLC mortgaged Sabal Pavilion to KBS REIT Acquisition II LLC for $14.7 million.

Inland Real Estate buys Walter's Crossing

BUYER: Inland Western Tampa Walters LLC (Inland Western Real Estate Trust Inc.), Oak Brook, Ill.

SELLER: MDG Walter LLC

PROPERTY: 1556, 1580 and 1536 N. Dale Mabry Highway, Tampa

PRICE: $34.96 million

PREVIOUS PRICE: $13.863 million, December 2003

LAW FIRM ON DEED: Trenam Kemker Scharf Barkin Frye O'Neill & Mullis PA, Tampa

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: Oak Brook, Ill.-based Inland Real Estate Corp. purchased the two-story Walter's Crossing shopping center in Tampa at Interstate 275 and Dale Mabry Highway. The 350,000-sqaure-foot building was completed last year. The center is anchored by a 110,382-square-foot Target, a 31,000-square-foot Linens-N-Things and a 20,000-square-foot Rooms to Go, according to CoStar Group data. Other tenants in the shopping center include: the 1,000-square-foot Catherines, 6,000-square-foot Macaroni Grill, 19,000-squre-foot PetSmart and a 1,250-square-foot Starbucks.

The 13-acre shopping center site formerly housed the Walter Industries headquarters. Morin Development Group eventually redeveloped the site for about $50 million.

Inland, which used the name Inland Western Tampa Walters LLC for the transaction, mortgaged the property to Nomura Credit and Capital for $20.6 million.

Florida Spine Institute acquires headquarters

BUYER: Florida Spine Properties LLC (principal: Francisco Torres, Clearwater

SELLER: JES Property Inc.

PROPERTY: 2230 and 225 Drew St., Clearwater

PRICE: $2.6 million

PREVIOUS PRICE: $918,200, November 1991 and $175,000, November 1992

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: The Florida Spine Institute purchased its main headquarters building in Clearwater for $2.6 million. The institute has operated from the 21,000-square-foot office building since 1991, but in 2002, when the ownership group changed, the new institute operator wound up leasing the property from the former owners.

"This is our flagship location so we wanted to keep that in place," says Brad Meinck, chief executive officer for the Florida Spine Institute.

Meinck says the company is considering renovating the office building.

The company operates from five locations, including offices in Safety Harbor, Palm Harbor, Tampa and a second office in Clearwater.

Florida Spine Properties LLC mortgaged the property to AmSouth Bank for $2.56 million.