Commercial Real Estate Briefs

By Business Observer Staff
| 6:00 p.m. October 2, 2008
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Manatee-Sarasota

COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE sarasota-Manatee by Sean Roth | Real Estate Editor

City approves Whitaker Yacht Club

The Whitaker Yacht Club project planned for downtown Sarasota moved one step closer to construction late last month, following Sarasota City Commission approval of the site plan for the yacht club, clubhouse and fuel station. 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 Intershow's Charles and Kim Githler and Stanley and Daniel Kane, in July 2003 for $3.8 million.

As currently designed the project will featured a yacht club with 18 wet and 267 dry slips, a gas station, a 4,041-square-foot clubhouse and a 132-room, 78,000-square-foot hotel.

The project still needs site plan approval for the hotel and a restaurant and the entire development must receive building permit approval.

"Our focus right now is on doing the construction documents and getting our sales strategy ready to start the first of the year," says Andy Dorr with Intershow. "I have some nine months to move through all the tasks ahead of me. I'm optimistic we will be finished in the middle of 2010."

The Whitaker Yacht Club developers have hired Kim Lindsey, formerly of the Sanibel Harbour Yacht Club, as their in-house director of sales.

Church buys apartment,

plans housing for mothers

BUYER: Frank J. Dewane as Bishop of The Diocese of Venice, Venice

SELLER: Stephen and Julie Carr

PROPERTY: 500 W. Venice Ave., Venice

PRICE: $1.03 million

PREVIOUS PRICE: $1.5 million, December 2005

TITLE FIRM ON DEED: Alliance Group Title LLC, Sarasota

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: The Catholic Diocese of Venice purchased an eight-unit 4,420-square-foot apartment building on Venice Avenue next to a municipal tennis court for $1.03 million. The diocese plans to use it as part of its "Our Mother's House," a Catholic Charities post-birth transition home program for low-income single mothers and their newborns.

"In today's economy we have more and more homeless single mothers with infants coming to us for help," Peter Routsis-Arroyo, CEO of Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Venice, said in an e-mail to the Review. "Not only do they need a roof over their heads, but they also need a program such as "Our Mother's House" to help them move towards self-sufficiency."

The diocese has not yet determined the amount of renovation needed, but does not expect to increase the number of units.

Developer planning

Porter Industrial expansion

Sarasota Investment Co. Inc. has filed a site plan to add four new phases to the three-building, 49,000-square-foot Porter Industrial Park at the 6000 block of Porter Road also known as Clarity Court near Apex Drive in Sarasota.

The developer plans eventually to add another 86,225 square feet of warehouse space in a mixture of buildings, but Steve Allen, president and CEO, says no vertical construction is likely any time soon.

"We started permitting it now because the process is so long and complicated," Allen says. "We're permitting for the future as the economy improves. We do all the soft work coordination in house, hiring all the professionals, architects, engineers and soil engineers. So we can do that while the market absorption builds for rental space."

Allen first plans to focus on filling a 3,000-square-foot vacancy in one of the earlier existing buildings He is marketing the air-conditioned warehouse space for $9.60 a square foot.

Allen expects to start site work on the next phase of the park, a 16,000-square-foot warehouse building, next year.

Etc...

• Extreme Remodeleres of Sarasota, LLC leased 3,380 square feet at 3750 S. Osprey Ave. in Sarasota from John Patterson and others for five years. Ian Black of Ian Black Real Estate handled the transaction.

• The Diocese of Venice purchased a 6,475-square-foot church on 2.92 acres at 1900 Meadowood St., Sarasota from Holy Trinity Angelican Church Inc. fka St. Stephen's Anglican Church In America Inc. for $1.3 million. Barry Seidel of American Property Group of Sarasota Inc. represented the seller, and Bridget Spiess of Re/Max Alliance Group represented the buyer.

Lee-Collier by Sean Roth | Real Estate Editor

Publix Super Markets

buys 25 area Albertsons

BUYER: Publix Super Markets Inc.

SELLER: ABS FLA Investor LLC or ABS Realty Investor LLC

PROPERTY: 26841 S Tamiami Trail, Bonita Springs; 4651 Cortez Road, Bradenton; 127 Cape Coral Parkway and 1735 NE Pine Island Road, Cape Coral; 26583 U.S. 19 N., 1921 N Belcher Road and 1295 S Missouri Ave., Clearwater; 16970 San Carlos Blvd. and 13401 Summerlin Road, Fort Myers; 12101 Little Road, Hudson; 3825 East Bay Drive and 13031 Walsingham Road, Largo; 8833 N Tamiami Trail and 3350 Tamiami Trail E, Naples; 35439 U.S. Highway 19 N. and500 E Lake Road, Palm Harbor; 1101 Eighth Ave. W, Palmetto; 9005 U.S. Highway 301 N, Parrish; 4701 Park Blvd., Pinellas Park; 4840 S Tamiami Trail, Sarasota; 7880 113th St., Seminole; 3700 Fourth St. N., 3030 54th Ave. S. and 3900 66th St. N, St. Petersburg; 8701 W Hillsborough Ave. and 3838 Britton Plaza, Tampa

PRICE: undisclosed but estimated at $500 million

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: Lakeland grocery giant Publix Super Markets Inc. purchased 25 Albertsons grocery locations along the Gulf Coast, from Tampa to Naples, as part of its 49-store acquisition in Florida.

The total purchase price was unavailable as of press time, but Publix itself estimated the purchase at $500 million in its most recent quarterly financial filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Following the mass acquisition, Publix is inspecting each of the properties individually and making needed renovations to reopen them as Publix stores.

"There is no set schedule at this point [for the stores to reopen]," says Maria Brous, director of media and community relations for Publix. "It will depend on permitting time and the process it takes to get the work done. Our goal is to have some of the locations open by this month, but we're shooting to have most of them done by the end of the year. Undoubtedly though, there will be some that drift into next year. The deal allows us to go into new areas, such as Escambia with four locations. This will also allow us to open a Publix in Tallahassee. The other locations allow us to better serve the community. This will also allow us to expand our other banners."

Brous says some existing Publix locations may close as part of the acquisition, but that the impact is expected to be minimal, with some redundant stores being converted to other Publix store brands including Publix GreenWise Market.

Publix currently has 680 stores in Florida and 951 in the Southeast U.S. (Florida, Georgia, Alabama, South Carolina and Tennessee).

One Liberty Properties

buys Naples OfficeMax

BUYER: Olp Naples LLC, Great Neck, N.Y.

SELLER: Logan Fort Myers Associates L

PROPERTY: 3770 Ninth St. N., Naples

PRICE: $6.16 million

PREVIOUS PRICE: $866,700, July 1992

LAW FIRM ON DEED: D2 Law Group PL, Tampa

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: A subsidiary of the Great Neck, N.Y.-based real-estate investment trust One Liberty Properties Inc. purchased a 15,912-square-foot Office Max retail store on Ninth Street in Naples for $6.16 million, equal to an average of $387 a square foot. OfficeMax Inc. agreed to lease the location through at least March 2018 and has several options to increase the period of the lease.

"...This property was chosen in part due to its excellent location on a major commercial corridor," Patrick J. Callan Jr., president and CEO of One Liberty, said in a press release. "The acquisition of this property also continues the company's objective of acquiring quality properties that are net leased on long-term bases."

BG Capital Group buys local Neptune Society building

BUYER: 6360 Presidential Court LLC, Fort Lauderdale

SELLER: W&L LLC

PROPERTY: 6360 Presidential Court, Fort Myers

PRICE: $1.48 million

PREVIOUS PRICE: $1.68 million, November 2005

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: Nassau, Bahamas-based merchant bank BG Capital Group purchased an office building on Presidential Court adjacent to Edison Community College in Fort Myers for $1.48 million, an average of $162 a square foot.

Originally constructed in 1979, the 9,079-square-foot building sits on a 0.82-acre parcel. BG Capital owns the Neptune Society Inc., national cremation company that is a tenant in the Presidential Court building.

Mark Alexander of Sperry Van Ness's Fort Myers office represented the seller, W&L LLC of Morgantown, N.J. Acquisition Development Holdings Corp. represented BG Capital, which purchased the property through its Fort Lauderdale office. Alexander says BG Capital bought the building as an investment.

"[There] is a trend in the industry, where tenants are now finding it a good time to buy the building where they have been renting," Alexander wrote in an e-mail to the Review. "BG has been looking to do this same thing in other Florida markets where their firms have been tenants..."

BG Capital's purchase entity 6360 Presidential Court LLC mortgaged the property to Bank of Florida - Southeast for $1.08 million.

COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE TAMPA BAY by Sean Roth | Real Estate Editor

Arthur Hill buys Westshore office building

BUYER: AHC Metro 550 Tampa LLC (AHC Management LLC), Evanston, Ill.

SELLER: Blumberg Property Fund LP fka American Ventures Property Fund I Ltd.

PROPERTY: 550 Reo St., Tampa

PRICE: $9.3 million

PREVIOUS PRICE: $8.31 million, August 1988

LAW FIRM ON DEED: Hunton & Williams LLP, Miami

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: Evanston, Ill.-based real estate development, investment and property management firm Arthur Hill & Co. purchased a three-story, 76,397-square-foot office building on 4.15 acres and an additional 1.25 acres of vacant land in Westshore for $9.3 million.

The property was 93% leased at the time of the sale, and tenants include the headquarters of Global Data Management Services, a telecom network management company, Accent Property Management better known as Centers of Westshore, an executive suite operator, and Lockheed Martin.

"We own about 100,000 square feet across from the [University of South Florida campus], and we've been looking in the Westshore area for a while," says Robert Gilbert, director of asset management & operations for Arthur Hill & Co.

"We like it as a trade area, and we like the demographics. On a price per square foot it was relatively well priced in the mid to low $90s."

Gilbert says the new ownership has been in contact with the current tenants and is planning some 'wish list" improvements, such as upgrades to the workout facilities, adding WiFi Internet access in the common areas and upgrading the bathrooms.

CB Richard Ellis' Dale Peterson and Paul W. Carr represented the seller, American Ventures Realty. CB Richard Ellis is handling the property management and leasing the building and is looking for a tenant for the final about 6,000 square feet.

Arthur Hill & Co. mortgaged the Reo Street property to Jackson National Life Insurance Co. for $6.2 million.

Etc...

• Creative Contractors Inc. has been selected by the University of South Florida to build the new Science and Technology/General Academic Facility on the St. Petersburg campus. The 34,000-square-foot, $9-million structure will be the first building in the University of South Florida system designed and constructed to meet the LEED green building certification.

It will be 20% more energy efficient and 30% more water efficient than a standard building of its size. RS&H of Tampa designed the two-story building.

• Cushman & Wakefield has been chosen as the exclusive marketing and leasing agent for SunTrust Financial Centre, an office tower in Tampa jointly owned by Macquarie Office Trust and the Stiles Corp. The Tampa office team of Andy May, Barry Oaks, and Bill Reeves will handle leasing responsibilities.

The SunTrust Financial Centre is currently home to major tenants such as SunTrust Bank, Hapag-Lloyd, 22Squared and Ernst & Young.

• Dr. Nathan Tang purchased a 7,610-square-foot office building at 333 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. St. N. in St. Petersburg from Mike von Stetina, Inc for : $800,000. Frank Bozikovich of Commercial Partners Realty Inc. represented the buyer.

• H.I.P. Paving purchased the former Cox Lumber properties at 800 31st St. S. and 650 34th St. S. in St. Petersburg from Cox Lumber Co. for $1.1 million. The two buildings total 31,796 square feet on 3.4 acres. Scott Clendening of Commercial Partners Realty represented the buyer.

• Limited Ventures LLC purchased a 6,731-square-foot multi-unit residential/office property at 1631 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. St. N., St. Petersburg from 1631 9th Street N LLC for $310,000. Frank Bozikovich of Commercial Partners Realty Inc. represented the seller.

• Benjamin Biomedical purchased a 8,987-square-foot office building at 539 Pasadena Ave. S., St. Petersburg on a 36,000-square-foot lot from St. Petersburg Surgery Center Ltd. for $1.39 million. Erik Anderson of Commercial Partners Realty Inc. represented the buyer.

• The Multifamily Team of T. Sean Lance, Casey Babb, CCIM and Bill Renje of NAI Tampa Bay has been selected to exclusively represent the Tampa Housing Authority in the acquisition of apartment complexes in the city of Tampa.

The three-year assignment will focus on acquiring several 100-plus unit properties in order to increase the THA's affordable housing footprint.

Stirling Sotheby's International

marketing Sheik Island Farm

Stirling Sotheby's International Realty has been named the exclusive sales and marketing representatives for the Sheik Island Farm, a unique 360-acre equestrian facility in Dade City.

Stirling Sotheby's associate Julie Riegler serves as the listing agent and principal contact for the property, which is listed for sale at $7.9 million.

The Sheik Island Farm includes two unique homes on opposite sides of the island and two main barns with 24 horse stalls designed by Blackburn Architects P.C. one of the nation's top designers of equestrian facilities.

The state-of-the-art equestrian facilities include a tack room, lab, men's and women's full bathroom facilities, indoor wash racks, outside dutch doors on each stall, a vented roof, a cupola, and dormers.

An adjacent two-story building includes three executive office suites, a reception area, a three-bedroom apartment, a large machine shop, a laundry room and storage.

The facility is located between Lake Pasadena and Buddy Lake in Dade City.

Assisted-, senior-living facility