Commercial Real Estate Briefs

Commercial Real Estate Briefs

by Sean Roth | Real Estate Editor

SARASOTA-MANATEE

Whitaker Yacht Club near start, adds Marriott

The oft-discussed and revised Whitaker Yacht Club project in downtown Sarasota is now scheduled to start towards the end of the year and will include a Marriott hotel. The project has gone through various iterations since the property, south of a Subway restaurant on U.S. 41 at 1889 N. Tamiami Trail, was purchased by Yacht Center Land Co. LLC, a company owned by Charles and Kim Githler and Stanley and Daniel Kane, in July 2003 for $3.8 million.

The project is now envisioned featuring a Chevron gas station, an 134-room Marriott Springhill Suites with a restaurant and the Sarasota Whitaker Yacht Club: an 8,392-square-foot clubhouse, 22 wet slips and a building to house 267 dry slips.

"If we get a favorable hearing [for the yacht club] we should be able to go before the planning board and the city commission by October or November," says Andy Dorr with Githler's Intershow.

Dorr says the project is the result of a compromise with area neighbors. It was those same neighbor concerns for height and noise that killed a planned condominium development in early 2005 and most recently forced a downward revision to the developer's dockominium/rackominium plans.

"We have had to downsize [from the previous yacht club plan] over 50%," Dorr says. "We went to a project that no longer requires a rezone or a variance."

Dorr estimates that the hotel and yacht club plan went from a value of $40 million to $19 million.

"The first thing [when dealing with such a revision] is you have to take a deep breath," Dorr says. "You have to accept that the economic return is not going to be as strong as you had anticipated because you can't sit there and fight with the neighbors for years. You have to compromise."

Bonita Bay Group

buys back Punta Gorda land

BUYER: Burnt Store 2207 LLC (principals: Susan Watts, Katherine Green, David Lucas, Mitch Hutchcreaft, Brian Lucas and Scott Whitney), Bonita Springs

SELLER: Burnt Store Road Investments LLC

PROPERTY: 14100 Burnt Store Road, Punta Gorda

PRICE: $17.25 million

PREVIOUS PRICE: $23 million, December 2005

LAW FIRM ON DEED: Leopold Korn Leopold & Snyder PA, Aventura

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: Coral Springs-based Centerline Homes has decided against developing a 300-acres parcel on Burnt Store Road near Notre Dame Road and sold it back to its former owner Bonita Springs-based developer Bonita Bay Group. Bonita Bay Group officials declined to comment on the premium for the sale back, but official records appear to show Bonita Bay Group keeping $5.75 million for the year-and-a-half buy back.

The property is part of a larger 940-acre development owned by the Bonita Bay Group.

"We're still evaluating it," says Mary Briggs, public relations director for the Bonita Bay Group. "At this point it's our plan to develop it. We're assessing whether it should be three communities or one."

Bonita Bay Group has almost exclusively developed in Lee or Collier counties so the Punta Gorda property and some other recent property acquisitions in Hendry County mark a departure for the company.

"We are gradually expanding geographically from our central base," Briggs says.

Naples developers renaming,

developing Tranquility Island

BUYER: Peace River Island LLC (principals: Peter and Melanie Fagan), Naples

SELLER: Tranquility Island LLC

PROPERTY: 3601, 3603, 3605, 3607, 3609, 3611, 3613, 3615, 3617, 3619, 3621, 3623, 3625, 3627, 3629, 3631, 3633, 3635, 3637, 3639, 3641, 3643, 3645, 3647, 3600, 3606, 3608, 3612, 3624, 3626, 3628, 3630, 3632, 3642, 3644, 3648, 3648, 3500, 3506, 3508, 3510, 3512, 3520, 3534, 3536, 3538, 3540, 3550, 3552, 3558, 3501, 3502, 3507, 3511, 3513, 3515, 3517, 3519, 3521, 3523, 3525, 3527, 3529, 3531, 3533, 3535, 3537, 3539, 3541, 3543, 3545, 3547, 3549, 3551, 3553, 3555, 3557, 3559 and 3649 Morrison Drive and 502, 503, 508, 509, 514, 515 and 520 Peace Island Drive, Punta Gorda

PRICE: $3.35 million

PREVIOUS PRICE: $1.65 million, February 2005

LAW FIRM ON DEED: Moore and Waksler PL, Punta Gorda

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: Peter and Melanie Fagan purchased the 18.2-acre Tranquility Island near the intersection of Interstate 74 and State Road 17 in Punta Gorda for $3.35 million.

The Fagans plan to develop the island as Peace River Island, a 55-unit development in 20 buildings.

"It was originally platted for 85 single-family home sites, but it just sat there," Peter Fagan says. "We will be paying close attention to the environmental impact. We're not going to develop a big portion of it. The design we are looking calls for something like townhomes on stilts. It's definitely going to have a resort feel. It's not going to have a lot of nonporous concrete."

Fagan was optimistic that he would receive permits to start by next year.

LEE-COLLIER

Edens & Avant buys Coral Shores center

BUYER: Coral Shores (E&A) LLC,

SELLER: Burn LLC

PROPERTY: 3015 S.W. Pine Island Road, Cape Coral

PRICE: $13.69 million

PREVIOUS PRICE: $705,000, June 2004

LAW FIRM ON DEED: Roetzel & Andress LPA, Naples

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: Columbia, S.C.-based Edens & Avant purchased the 68,600-square-foot Coral Shores neighborhood shopping center in Cape Coral for $13.69 million. The center, anchored by a 44,000-square-foot Publix Super Market, is fully leased.

"From a strategic standpoint we chose to focus on growing or high-income market areas" says Jami Passer, vice president of South Florida for Edens & Avant "That area presents a little more on the high growth side. The area is already experiencing explosive growth, and we expect it continue for some time into the future. There also has been a tremendous amount of development in that area of Pine Island with a new Kohls and a Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market."

The retail developer/owner Edens & Avant owns the Albertsons-anchored, 77,181-square-foot University Crossing center in Fort Myers and the 253,534-square-foot, Winn Dixie-anchored Promenades in Punta Gorda.

Coral Shores was completed near the end of 2005, so Edens & Avant officials don't anticipate construction changes in the near future. Along with Publix, the center's tenants include: Allstate, Beef O' Brady's, the UPS Store, Hi Tech Dry Cleaners, Great Clips, Curve, Friendly Frankie's Liquor, Cape Coral Tan Co., Franklin Hair Salon, Subway and Blockbuster.

Liberty Investment plans

extended-stay Fort Myers hotel

BUYER: Liberty VP East Ft. Myers LLC (principals: Liberty Acquisitions LLC, Brian Pelski and Michael Mikkelson), Maitland

SELLER: Melvin and Barbara Wroten and Richard and Theresa Ferri

PROPERTY: 9791, 9751, 9701 and 9721 Orange River Blvd. and a single-family home at 279 Procopio Lane, Fort Myers

PRICE: $2.21 million

PREVIOUS PRICE: $575,800, November 2005, $266,900, February 2006 and $400,000, March 2006 (includes additional parcels)

LAW FIRM ON DEED: Akerman Senterfitt, Orlando

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: Liberty Investment Properties Inc. purchased five acres of residential land on Orange River Boulevard in Fort Myers for $2.21 million. The firm plans to develop the site as one of its Value Place, long-term stay hotels. The size of the project is still being evaluated and company officials expect to the put the it out to bid for a general contractor in about a month. The firm' economy hotel brand targets visitors spending 30 to 90 days in a particular market and features units with kitchenettes, stove tops and refrigerators.

"We're excited about the Fort Myers market and all the growth out there," says Mike Hart marketing manager.

The hotel will be the franchise's first entry into the Gulf Coast market. However, the company is already said to be looking to grow into the Tampa market as well. Liberty officials currently plan to have 15 Value Places open by the end of 2007 and 50 by the end of 2008.

Maitland-based Liberty Investment Properties mortgaged the property to Orange Bank of Florida for $1.67 million and to 1031 Tax Free Strategies LLC for $564,984.

Aside from its hotel properties, Liberty Investment Properties also owns a portfolio of self-storage facilities.

Citrus World buys

80-acre grove

BUYER: Hickory Branch Corp. (principals: William Hendry, Mark Dunn, David Crumbly and Frank Hunt III), Lake Wales

SELLER: Hold'Em Holdings LLC

PROPERTY: Off Camp Keais Road south of Immokalee Road, Collier County

PRICE: $1.04 million

LAW FIRM ON DEED: Straughn Turner & Smith PA, Winter Haven

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: Lake Wales-based citrus-juice cooperative Citrus World purchased an 80-acre citrus grove near Camp Keais Road in northern Collier County from a member of cooperative for $1.04 million. The property is part of a 4,000-acre ranch that the cooperative already manages.

"One of the members in our cooperative wanted to sell his land," says Dave Crumbly, vice president of agricultural services. "Most of the land is still owned by individual landowners and managed by the cooperative, but in certain cases the cooperative itself will buy the land. Obviously we expect to be processing it for at least the near future, but it's not that far off from Ave Maria so eventually we do expect to feel some pressure from development even in that area."

The cooperative is the second largest seller of not-from-concentrate juice behind Tropicana and is the third overall juice seller behind Minute Maid. In a typical year, the cooperative processes 15 million boxes of fruit.

Etc...

• Kid Zoo LLC leased 2,500 square feet of retail space in Bay Crossings at 26251 Tamiami Trail, Bonita Springs from The Park Apartments LLC. The retail team of Karen Johnson-Crowther, Charlene Greenblatt, Salli Jones-Doyon, and Lindsey Schmoyer of Colliers Arnold handled the transaction.

• Fort Myers-based J.L. Wallace Inc. has started construction on Southwest Capital Bank's new headquarters at 12670 Creekside Lane in Fort Myers. The builder will renovate part of an existing office building and convert the first floor, about 14,000 square feet, into administrative offices for the bank. The completed facility will include a lobby for customer counter service, a three-lane drive-through addition and other finishes. Construction is scheduled for completion in November.

• Gora-McGahey Associates in Architecture will design the Iona/McGregor & Lee County Government Complex. As the new public service hub, the campus on a nine-acre site on Pine Ridge Road, between Gladiolus Drive and Summerlin Road, will also accommodate a 9,000-square-foot Sheriff's substation, a 15,000-square-foot fire and EMS station and a 10,000-square-foot tax collector's office facility. Ground breaking is scheduled in early 2008.

TAMPA BAY

Realty Equity buys two office buildings

BUYER: Rees 625 LLC (principal: Realty Equity Partners Inc.), Duxbury, Mass

SELLER: Bayshore Property Corp.

PROPERTY: 5100 W. Kennedy Blvd. and 4902 Eisenhower Blvd., Tampa

PRICE: $26.6 million ($13.36 million for 5100 W. Kennedy and $13.14 million for 4902 Eisenhower)

PREVIOUS PRICE: $5.9 million (5100 W. Kennedy) $10 million (4902 Eisenhower), December 2002

LAW FIRM ON DEED: McNamara & Carver PA, Tampa

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: Duxbury, Mass-based Realty Equity Partners Inc. purchased the Kennedy Center on Kennedy Boulevard and President's Plaza I in Tampa from the Bayshore Co. for a total of $26.6 million. According to the real estate research firm CoStar Group, both building are roughly the same size (95,869 for the Kennedy Center and 96,016 square feet for the President's Plaza 1) and were built in 1980.

Duke Realty buys land

for Big Bend center

BUYER: Duke Realty Limited Partnership, Orlando

SELLER: Nancy Skemp, as trustee of the Copeland D. Newbern Trust, Peter Skemp and John Shepard

PROPERTY: A portion of SEC 11-31S-19E, Hillsborough County

PRICE: $6.007 million

LAW FIRM ON DEED: Hill Ward & Henderson PA, Tampa

BUYER: Duke Realty Limited Partnership, Orlando

SELLER: Sandra A. Yetson, as trustee of the Sandra Yetson Revocable Trust

PROPERTY: Vacant acreage, on the Gibsonton area south of the River, Tampa

PRICE: $1.4 million

PREVIOUS PRICE: $52,800, June 1982

LAW FIRM ON DEED: Bricklemeyer Smolker & Bolves PA, Tampa

BUYER: Duke Realty Limited Partnership, Orlando

SELLER: The V. V. Vogel & Sons Farms Inc.

PROPERTY: 13013 Vogel Farms Road, Tampa

PRICE: $6 million

TITLE FIRM ON DEED: Commerce Title Services Inc., Apollo Beach

BUYER: Big Bend Holdings LLP, Apollo Beach

SELLER: Duke Realty Limited Partnership

PROPERTY: 1.506 acres SEC 11-31S-19E

PRICE: $10,000

LAW FIRM ON DEED: Shumaker Loop & Kendrick LLP, Tampa

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: Duke Realty Corp. purchased 120 acres at U.S. 41 and Big Bend Road in Tampa to develop a large industrial and distribution park called the Big Bend Distribution Center. The entire development is slated to house 1.3 million square feet of future industrial or distribution projects.

Duke Realty acquired the land from Farmington Hills, Mich.-based Schafer Development and plans to start development in the second quarter of 2008. Duke Realty plans to start with four speculative cross-dock bulk distribution buildings that will range from 290,000 to 400,000 square feet.

Duke Realty representatives say the project will fill a need in the Tampa market for large distribution facilities 100,000 square feet or larger.

In other company news, Duke Realty officials report the company had only one remaining vacant industrial parcel, an eight-acre piece of land in Fairfield Distribution Center. The company plans to develop that parcel later this year into a 135,000-square-foot distribution center.

In Florida, Duke Realty controls more than 5.7 million square feet of existing office and industrial real estate and has another 264 acres of land for future development. The company owns, manages or has under development more than 113 million rentable square feet in 20 major U.S. cities.

Camden Property Trust acquires Pointe at Kings Avenue

BUYER: Fund Pointe at Kings Avenue LLC (principal: Camden Realty Inc.), Houston

SELLER: The Pointe at Kings Avenue LLC

PROPERTY: 826 Milano Circle, Brandon

PRICE: $41.08 million

PREVIOUS PRICE: $4.35 million, September 2004

LAW FIRM ON DEED: Winstead PC, Houston

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: Houston-based multi-family developer/management firm Camden Property Trust purchased the 352-unit The Pointe at Kings Avenue apartment complex on Milano Circle for $41 million. The complex has since been renamed Camden Royal Palms. So far the new ownership has announced only minor improvements for the property including installing new gates and constructing barbeque grills near the existing playground.

The complex already features a lagoon-style pool and spa, a fitness center, business center, multi-purpose sports court and car care center.

Camden officials did not return calls for comment prior to deadline.

The public company owns an interest in and operates 185 apartment communities covering some 64,000 apartment-units with another 13 complexes in its development pipeline.

Fuel and Shubh

buy Westshore Hotel

BUYER: Fuel and Shubh Capital Management II Delaware LLC (principals: Indira Lalwani, Atul Bisaria, Mahesh and Madhu Uberoi and Jugal, Manju, Supriya, Mandeep and Mihir Taneja), Tampa

SELLER: Pegasus Hotel Associates LLC

PROPERTY: 1200 Westshore Blvd., Tampa

PRICE: $17.4 million

PREVIOUS PRICE: $10 million, February 2000

LAW FIRM ON DEED: Williams Schifinio Mangione & Steady PA, Tampa

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: Boca Raton-based hotel management company Shubh Hotels LLC and several partners including, Jugal and Mihir Taneja, officers in the Largo public software company GeoPharma Inc., purchased the Westshore Hotel in Tampa for $17.4 million. The new ownership group, Fuel and Shubh Capital Management II Delaware LLC of Tampa, has announced plans to redevelop the 4.3-acre property as a mixture of office and residential condominiums with an upscale hotel.

Blake D. Bringgold a commercial real estate shareholder with Williams Schifino Mangione & Steady P.A. represented the former owner, Pegasus Hotel Associates, in the transaction.

Calls to Bringgold and Shubh Hotels were not returned prior to deadline.

Shubh Hotels owns the 713-room Hilton Pittsburgh, the 384-room Hotel Pontchartrain in Detroit, the 297-room Cornhusker (Marriott Hotel) in Lincoln, Neb., and the 183-room DoubleTree Guest Suites in Boca Raton.

Etc...

• Rubenstein Partners and its partner Tampa's Christian Tyler Properties have started demolition of the Executive Square Office Park in order to start work on West View Corporate Center, a 580,000-square-foot office campus in the Westshore business district. The project is scheduled for tenant occupancy by Spring of 2009. The development is located near Tampa International Airport, Westshore Mall, International Plaza Mall and is visible from Interstate 275.

West View Corporate Center will feature structured parking, concierge service, dry cleaner drop-off, security, a health club, campus shuttle service to Tampa International Airport and area malls and direct access to 40 acres of waterfront nature preserves and parks.

CB Richard Ellis has been retained as the project's leasing agent. Albert Alfonso, president of Tampa-based Alfonso Architects is the lead project architect.

• Meirose & Friscia, LLC purchased a 7,535-square-foot office condominium in Cypress Bay Corporate Center at 5550 West Executive Drive, Tampa from Harrod Properties for $1.77 million. Claire Calzon of Colliers Arnold represented the buyer, and Harrod Properties represented itself.

• Management Services Group Inc. purchased the IDS Building, a 56,000-square-foot flex/office space at 11200 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Street N., St. Petersburg, from Interior Design Services of Florida Inc. for $4.9 million. Alan Feldshue, Melanie Jackson, and Russ Sampson of Colliers Arnold represented the seller.

• Tampa-based Senior Care Group LLC has launched of The Bridges at Winthrop, a new senior community in Riverview. The development will feature villas and condominiums along with an a la carte selection of services amenities. Founded in 1983, Senior Care Group, LLC manages 20 facilities in six states with nearly 3,000 residents.

• The Tampa City Council has approved the site plan for a proposed IKEA store in Tampa. The plan approved by the city council allows IKEA to build a 353,000-square-foot store, with 1,700 parking spaces, on 29 acres currently occupied by buildings at the former Tampa International Center, bordered by 22nd Street, 26th Street and the Crosstown Expressway. Following permitting approval, IKEA plans to start construction in early summer 2008.