North American Development Group buys troubled Seminole Mall

BUYER: Seminole Mall LP, Palm Beach

SELLER: Downtown Seminole LLC

PROPERTY: 7858 Seminole Blvd., 8100 113th St., 7858 11th St., a portion of 113th St., Seminole

PRICE: $14.6 million

PREVIOUS PRICE: $35.7 million, December 2006

LAW FIRM ON DEED: Hill Ward Henderson, Tampa

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: West Palm Beach-based North American Development Group purchased the 424,192-square-foot Seminole Mall for $14.6 million.

The price equated to $34 per square foot.

The Pinellas County shopping center featured heavy vacancies. Publix vacated the center years ago and a 120,000-square-foot Kmart closed in October. The center currently houses Bealls, Stein Mart and Ross.

Frank Boullosa of FAB Properties and director of lender services for Ross Realty represented the seller.

“Clearly over the long-term the new owner would be looking to redevelop it,” Boullosa says. “In the immediate term they likely plan to continue to run it as is. This was far and away the most difficult deal I've ever had to do. Obviously it was sold at a big discount. The issue is whenever people are losing money it's not an easy process. People want to make sure they aren't leaving money on the table or getting taken advantage of.”

The short sale put an end to nearly three years of negotiations with the mortgage lender. Of those years, Boullosa says it took six to nine months of final negotiations between the bank and the eventual buyer.

Officials for North American Development Group declined to comment on the purchase. According to its website, the real estate firm owns 11 other centers in Florida, including the 94,000-square-foot Jacaranda Commons in Venice.