Commercial RE Briefs

Commercial RE Briefs

by Sean Roth | Real Estate Editor

Gulf Coast region

Brookdale Senior Living buys two Gulf Coast centers

BUYER: AHC Sterling House of Venice LLC (Mark Schulte, John Rijos, Mark Ohlendorf and William Sheriff), Chicago

SELLER: Nationwide Health Properties Inc.

PROPERTY: 1200 Avenida Del Circo, Venice

PRICE: $3.4 million

PREVIOUS PRICE: $2.755 million

LAW FIRM ON DEED: Rogers & Hardin LLP, Atlanta

BUYER: AHC Sterling House of Lehigh Acres LLC, Chicago

SELLER: Nationwide Health Properties Inc.

PROPERTY: 1251 Business Way, Lehigh Acres

PRICE: $2.7 million

PREVIOUS PRICE:

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: Chicago-based Brookdale Senior Living Inc. just closed on the Sterling House of Lehigh Acres and the Sterling House of Venice assisted living facilities in the region as part of the senior living consolidator's acquisition of 30 communities from Nationwide Health Properties, Inc. for $148.6 million. The communities, located in Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina and Texas, cover a total of 1,476 units. The purchase is expected to have little affect on operations, because all of the recently acquired properties were previously leased and operated by Brookdale.

Company officials say the funds to buy the properties will come from Brookdale's cash holdings and an acquisition line of credit.

"The advantages for us in this acquisition are the reduction in our financing costs and the increased tax benefit from owning the facilities," Mark Schulte, Brookdale's Co-CEO said in a press release reporting the sale. "In addition, by owning these assets outright, we will capture the facilities' entire value creation potential and preserve important options, including the ability to expand some of these communities if we decide to do so in the future."

Brookdale owns and operates 21 independent, assisted, and dementia-care facilities and continuing care retirement centers in the Gulf Coast area.

Gulf Coast Brookdale facilities

Freedom Plaza Sun City Center (Sun City Center)

Freedom Village Bradenton

Bahia Oaks Lodge (Sarasota)

Freedom Inn at Bay Pines (St. Petersburg)

Freedom Inn at Countryside (Clearwater)

Freedom Inn at Tarpon Springs

Homewood Residence at Freedom Plaza (Sun City Center)

Homewood Residence at Naples

Clare Bridge of Bradenton

Grand Court Fort Myers

Grand Court Tampa

Clare Bridge of Cape Coral

Clare Bridge of Fort Myers at the Colony

Clare Bridge of Sarasota

Sterling House of Cape Coral

Sterling House of Englewood

Sterling House of Fort Myers

Sterling House of LeHigh Acres

Sterling House of Port Charlotte

Sterling House of Punta Gorda

Sterling House of Venice

SARASOTA/MANATEE/CHARLOTTE

Miami firm buys Airport Commerce Center

BUYER: Airport Commerce Center LLC (principal: Yoram Izhak), North Miami

SELLER: Airport Commerce Center Inc.

PROPERTY: 7602, 7678, 7626 and various other parcels 15th St. E. and property on the 1100 to 1500 block of Tallevast Road, Sarasota

PRICE: $15.25 million

PREVIOUS PRICE: $1.875 million, October 1991

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: North Miami based real estate firm IMC Property Management purchased the eight building, 185,000-square-foot Airport Commerce Center for about $15 million.

Jeff Button of Richardson Kleiber Walter The Kleiber Group was the listing agent for the former owner, Stanley Riggs, and Mel Miller and Todd Snyder of the Miami real estate firm of Gene Snyder and Co. represented the buyer.

"It was a difficult decision to sell; it's definitely one of the nicest industrial properties around," Riggs says. "It's on 15 acres ... and it's not stuck in the middle of nowhere. I bought it in a closed bid in 1991 after the former owner went bankrupt and then its bank when bankrupt."

At the time, the center had a 29% occupancy, Riggs says. "Soon after that I hired Sue Goss as the property manager, and its been between 100% and 98% ever since." Riggs developed three of the buildings after taking it over.

As for what finally convinced Riggs to sell; he says it was a matter of relocating capital to other assets and insurance. Riggs has been focusing most of his recent efforts building Port Manatee Center.

After he bought the 23 acres near the port in 2002, Riggs has since developed an 11,000-square-foot office/warehouse, a 33,000-square-foot warehouse, an 85,000-square-foot warehouse, an 84,000-square-foot warehouse and a 60,000-square-foot warehouse. All of the buildings were 100% leased prior to completion. He recently broke ground on a 50,000-square-foot office/warehouse and still has room for another 65,000-square-foot building.

"This [Airport Commerce Center sale] was about removing debt from the remainder of the portfolio," Riggs says. "This really helps us to address the insurance issue. We can buy the insurance to match our risk level and not have to buy it to meet the level of our debtholder."

IMC Property Management mortgaged the industrial complex to Nationwide Life Insurance Co. for $11.4 million.

Earlier this month, IMC Property Management, using the corporate identity of 3800 Fort Myers LLC, purchased a 57,000-square-foot warehouse at 3800 Fowler St., Fort Myers from SLC Development LLC for $3.8 million.

Sarasota developers plan Fruitville strip center

BUYER: Cobia Bay LLC (principal: Michael Blaikie), Sarasota

SELLER: Beaver/Fruitville LP

PROPERTY: 5005, 5041 and 5045 Fruitville Road, 127, 128, 150 and 206 Avanti St. and 215 and 219 Richardson Way, Sarasota

PRICE: $2.5 million

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

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: An investment group of Michael Blaikie, James Gabbert, Leonard Meyer Jr., Cyrus Bispham Jr., Joseph Formella purchased some older homes on 2.87 acres of general commercial land between Comcast Cablevision and Big Jim Self Storage on the northside of Fruitville Road for $2.5 million. The owners plan to develop an L-shaped retail strip center and a 4,000-square-foot out-parcel building.

"We have to do the demolition for it first, but overall we are hoping to start construction in about six months," says Blaikie, who founded Sarasota-based Reef Properties & Development Inc. He expects to have the construction completed by mid-2008.

Formella Construction will be the general contractor for the development.

The partners, who used the corporate identity of Cobia Bay LLC for the acquisition, mortgaged the property to First State Bank for $5 million.

Seattle's Emeritus Corp. buys Cypress Gardens

BUYER: Brea Palmer Ranch LLC, Seattle

SELLER: Pita General Corp.

PROPERTY: 5111 Palmer Ranch Parkway, Sarasota

PRICE: $11.25 million

PREVIOUS PRICE: $12.2 million, September 1999

LAW FIRM ON DEED: Foster Pepper PLLC, Seattle,

BUYER: Brea Sarasota LLC, Seattle

SELLER: Pita General Corp.

PROPERTY: 5511 Swift Road, Sarasota

PRICE: $8.4 million

PREVIOUS PRICE: $6.48 million

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: Seattle-based assisted-living facility owner/operator Emeritus Corp. purchased two Sarasota assisted living/skilled nursing facilities from Indianapolis-based Prime Care Properties LLC for a total of $19.6 million. Emeritus acquired the skilled nursing and assisted-living facilities of Cypress Gardens at Palmer Ranch for $11.25 million and the Manor Care Nursing Center for $8.4 million.

Kathleen Harkins, regional vice president of operations for the south region for Summit Care Inc. the management company hired to operate the Cypress Gardens, says that particular facility was attractive because of the upside potential.

"We would like to think we can grow it," Harkins says. "The 60-bed skilled nursing facility is already 100% full, but we are probably only half way full in the [118-unit assisted living facility section]. We hope to have that property full within the year. It's just a beautiful property. For healthcare buildings, which get a lot of use, these builders are top of the line."

The Cypress Gardens properties are being renamed The Gardens on Palmer Ranch.

The Review received no comment from Emeritus Corp. or its agents on the Manor Care facility.

Emeritus Corp. mortgaged the two properties along with additional facilities to General Electric Capital Corp. for $167 million.

Etc...

Burns and Henault, Inc. purchased about six acres of land at 5014 Lena Road, Bradenton in Creekwood East Corporate Park from DJ2 LLC, Winder Venture LLC and SES Cortez LLC for $650,000. Mike Sporer and Steve Pimlott of Interstate Commercial Brokers represented the buyer. The seller was not represented. 

LEE/COLLIER

Developer plans Bonefish Plaza

BUYER: Pine Island Plaza Del Sol LLC, Fort Myers

SELLER: Cape Coral 5B LLC

PROPERTY: Near the intersection of Pine Island Road and Southwest 12th Avenue, Cape Coral

PRICE: $3.79 million

PREVIOUS PRICE: $873,900, January 2004

LAW FIRM ON DEED: Salvatori & Wood PL, Naples

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: Dan Creighton, owner of Fort Myers-based Affordable Family Homes LLC, and his finical partner Eri Kroh, purchased about 4.5 acres near the intersection of Pine Island Road and Southwest 12th Avenue in Cape Coral for $3.79 million. The partners plan to develop a 47,000-squre-foot retail/office development called the Bonefish Plaza anchored by a Bonefish Grill restaurant.

"In Cape Coral, only about 8% of the total land is available for commercial so what you get is this tremendous revenue leak to the surrounding area," Creighton says. "We're probably going to be breaking ground in May or June. We're in discussion right now for a Starbucks."

Along with Bonefish, Creighton says that on the other side of the plaza he is negotiating for a First Watch restaurant to serve as secondary anchor.

As conceived at this point, the Mediterranean-style plaza will feature about 35,000 square feet of street level retail and about 12,000 square feet of upstairs office space.

"We have about 4,000 square feet of it already leased out," Creighton says. He is asking $21 per square foot for upstairs office space and $25 for the retail space. The building is scheduled for completion by the end of 2007 or early 2008.

Pine Island Plaza Del Sol LLC, mortgaged the vacant site to First Community Bank of Southwest Florida for $2.84 million.

If Starbucks does agree to a lease, it won't be its first location in Cape Coral. Creighton already has an agreement with Starbucks for the coffee shop/retailer to occupy a 6,800 square foot plaza on Del Prado Boulevard near the existing Wal-Mart Super Center. Starbucks will share space in the center with Educator's Music. Construction on that center, which Creighton will develop with partner Chris Durso, is scheduled to start in June and take about four months.

Alico renegotiates 5,600-acre Ginn sale

Alico, Inc., a La Belle-based land management company, announced that its subsidiary, Alico-Agri, Ltd. agreed to two restructured contracts with The Ginn Development Cos. and its partner, Lubert-Adler Real Estate Opportunity Fund of Philadelphia, to sell Alico-Agri's property in Lee County.

The original contracts were entered into in 2001 and 2003, for about 5,600 acres near Bonita Springs. The contract price equates to $62.9 million for the eastern property and $75.5 million dollars for the western portion, for a purchase price of about $138 million. Each contract requires a 10% initial deposit with future payments to correspond to certain zoning approvals.

The new contracts call for Ginn Development to start paying Alico-Agri on Sept. 28, with the purchase price spaced out over four years. At the same time, the contracts also allow the buyers the option of paying to extend the payment date by up to an additional four years or 2014. If all the extensions were taken, those options would cost about $16 million.

Alico Inc. owns about 136,500 acres in Collier, Glades, Hendry, Lee and Polk counties. Alico is involved in citrus fruit production, harvesting and marketing, vegetable production, cattle ranching, sugarcane, sod production, rock mining, vegetable seedling greenhouse operations and forestry. The company also leases its land to other users.

Scripps Howard buys Naples News building

BUYER: Scripps Howard Publishing Inc., Cincinnati

SELLER: Collier County Publishing Co.

PROPERTY: 1, 9, 11, 12, 55 and 115 12th St. N. and 1075 and 10 Central Ave., Naples

PRICE: $23.1 million

LAW FIRM ON DEED: Baker & Hostetler LLP, Columbus, Ohio

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: Collier County Publishing Co. transferred several of the buildings in its Naples publication campus to its parent company Scripps Howard Publishing Inc. The purchase included the headquarters for the Naples Daily News, Collier Citizen, the Spanish language newspaper Latinos Ahora, Coastal Elegance & Wealth Magazine and Southwest Florida Business to Business Magazine.

The sale had no effect on Collier County Publishing's Bonita Springs and Marco Island properties or publications.

Etc...

• The Bonita Bay Group's North River Communities LLC has continued its acquisition roll. The home builder/developer company purchased a total of nearly 200 acres at State Road 31 and North River Road in Alva from Michael and Tracy Greenwell for $13.85 million. The purchase featured 76.81 acres at 18500 State Road 31 and 121.4 acres at 12250 N. River Road.

Mary Briggs, spokesperson for the Bonita Bay Group, said the company is still considering what to do with the property. North River Communities LLC mortgaged the property to the former owners for $10.5 million.

• Fort Myers-based Motorsports Solutions, using a corporate name of Fischer Properties I LLP - a reference to the company's CEO and founder J. Scott Fischer - purchased five acres on Daniels Interstate Court, Fort Myers in D75 Commerce Center from Osprey Technologies LLP for $2.65 million. Glo Cuiffi, a spokesperson for the company, said that the site has been considered as a possible location for a new Harley-Davidson Fort Myers location, but no decision is in its immediate future.

• Fort Myers-based Stevens Construction completed construction of the Shamrock Properties' office building at 4610 Elevation Way in the Benchmark Corporate Park. Designed by Tyson and Billy Architects of Cape Coral, the 13,128-square-foot construction project included an interior build-out of 7,756 square feet and an additional 5,372 square feet for future office and warehouse lease space. A local electrical contractor will occupy most of the facility.

Tampa Bay

Atlanta hotelier buys Hilton Garden Tampa

BUYER: G.I. Tampa North Realco LLC

SELLER: Tampa Oaks Hotel LLC

PROPERTY: 13305 Tampa Oaks Blvd., Temple Terrace

PRICE: $14.7 million

PREVIOUS PRICE: $1,196,300, August 1999

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: Atlanta-based Noble Investment Group purchased the 148-room Hilton Garden Inn Tampa North in Temple Terrace for $14.7 million. The developer/hotel operator already owns the Hilton Garden Inn Tampa East/Brandon at 10309 Highland Manor Drive, Tampa.

No major renovations are planned for the hotel, according to Randy Goodell, general manager for the Hilton Garden Inn Tampa North, except for some small capital improvements, such as the addition of flat screen TVs to the rooms, as required by the brand. The hotel, located near the University of South Florida, also features 3,800 square feet of meeting/banquet space and The Great American Grill restaurant.

While the majority of its hotel holdings are in Georgia, Noble Investment Group owns three other hotels in Florida, including a Hilton Garden Inn and a Springhill Suites by Marriott in Jacksonville.

Seminole Tribe acquires two Harney warehouse buildings

BUYER: STOF Holdings Ltd. (principals: Mitchell Cypress, Moses Osceola and Max Osceola Jr.), Hollywood

SELLER: Ferris Funk Associates LLP

PROPERTY: 6403 and 6401 Harney Road, Tampa

PRICE: $4.27 million

PREVIOUS PRICE: $400,000, Sept. 1985

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: The Hollywood-based Seminole Tribe of Florida Inc. purchased two light distribution buildings at 6401 and 6403 Harney Road in Tampa for $4.267 million. The smaller of the two buildings, the 26,500-square-foot 6403, is leased entirely to Zephyrhills Spring Water Co. as an office and distribution facility. The second, 32,800-square-foot building is fully leased to four companies, including the Seminole Tribe itself.

The two buildings sits on an about 7.7 acre site zoned for planned development, industrial uses.

Mark Shellabarger, John Jenkins and Ginger Gelsheimer in CB Richard Ellis Inc.'s Tampa office listed the two buildings.

The tribe mortgaged the two properties to former owner Ferris Funk Associates LLP for $2 million.

Earlier this year, the Seminole Tribe of Florida announced it would pay $965 million for the Hard Rock Cafe.

Tampa family buys Pinellas Park Howard Johnson

BUYER: Gulf To Bay Motel LLC (principals: Carl and Shamdai Persad), Tampa

SELLER: J. I. B. A. Hospitality LLC

PROPERTY: 9359 U.S. Highway 19 North Pinellas Park

PRICE: $4.25 million

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: Carl and Shamdai Persad purchased the 100-room Howard Johnson Inn of Pinellas Park for $4.25 million. According to the their son, Ayaz Ali, the Howard Johnson is the couple's first hotel investment. Ali, who was general manager of the hotel under the previous owners and is staying on to manage it for his parents, says he saw the hotel as an extremely good investment and suggested it to his parents. At this point, no renovation outside of usual hotel upkeep is planned. The property was renovated in 2005.

Gulf To Bay Motel LLC mortgaged the property to Synovus Bank for $3 million.

Etc...

• Beazer Homes started development of 600 single-family home sites in the first phase of Belmont, off U.S. 301 and Big Bend Road in south Hillsborough County. Altogether, 2,000 new homes are planned at Belmont, including single-family homes and town homes.