Ronto Group purchases land for $18 million

BUYER: RP Bonita Beach Rd LLC (Rockpoint Group LLC), Dallas

SELLER: Daniel Light (50% interest) and OBPFL-BBR LLC

PROPERTY: a portion of Bonita Beach Road east of Interstate 75, Bonita Springs

PRICE: $18 million

PREVIOUS PRICE: $8 million, February 2010

LAW FIRM ON DEED: Bolanos Truxton PA, Fort Myers

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: RP Bonita Beach Rd LLC, a joint venture of Rockpoint Capital and Naples-based developer The Ronto Group, purchased 691 acres on the east end of Bonita Beach Road near Village Walk and 724 acres of mitigation land in rural Lee and Hendry counties for $18 million.

The price equated to $12,730 per acre.

The 691-acre property has zoning and entitlements for 1,100 residential units and a golf course.

Rockpoint Capital and The Ronto Group previously owned the property. A similar joint-venture entity purchased the property in January 2002 for $42.19 million. It eventually transferred the property back to the lender RC Properties VII LLC in February 2009.

“We really loved the location of the land, we have a history with it and understood it well,” says Anthony Solomon, executive vice president of The Ronto Group. “It had excellent density and was entirely approved. We just liked its long-term position in the Naples and Bonita market.”

Solomon says that, although the partners will likely be accelerating their schedule for the project, major construction is likely still years away.

Randy Thibaut and William Rollins of Land Solutions Inc. represented the sellers.