Collier office building sells for record $49.9 million

BUYER: Southern Holdings 3 LLC (OV Realty Holdings LLC), Bloomington, Minn.

SELLER: FTC Naples LLC

PROPERTY: 999 Vanderbilt Beach Road, Naples

PRICE: $49.9 million

PREVIOUS PRICE: $1.64 million, November 1999

LAW FIRM ON DEED: Jaffe Raitt Heuer & Weiss PC, Southfield, Mich.

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: Minneapolis asset management firm Olympus Ventures LLC purchased the Fifth Third Center office building for $49.9 million.

The price equated to $310 per square foot.

According to property records, the seller was Naples-based FTC Naples LLC. Officers of FTC Naples' parent company, FTC Naples Manager Inc., include: Richard Crawford of Naples, John Erb of Bloomfield, Mich., Ira Jaffe of Southfield, Mich., and Carl Craft of Birmingham, Mich.

The sale is the largest individual commercial sale in Collier County in at least the past three years, according to the Collier County Property Appraiser's office. The second-largest sale during that period was The Blackstone Group's purchase of the Carillon Place shopping center in June for $35.35 million.

The eight-story, 161,000-square-foot office building at 999 Vanderbilt Beach Road, Naples was fully leased at the time of the sale. Fifth Third Bank and Brown & Brown Insurance are its two most prominent tenants. The sale also included a parking deck with more than 500 spaces.

Craig Timmins and Clint Sherwood, both of Investment Properties Corp., represented the seller. Andrew DeSalvo, Dougall McCorkle and Matt Stepan, of Premier Commercial Inc.; Gary Jaarda, of Premier Sotheby's International Realty; and GLJ Inc., of Michigan, represented the buyer.

None of the brokers would comment on the buyer or its investment return citing confidentially, but the Business Review verified the buyer's identity using public records.

The building is one of the largest office buildings in Collier County and, at 10 years old, it is also one of the youngest Class A buildings in the market. The building was never listed.

“When a building trades like Fifth Third Center, it's typically acquired for long-term passive income,” Stepan says, speaking in general of the investment. “People don't buy properties like this because they're value-add propositions. Because of its location this building has always had a high occupancy historically and likely always will, so it's seen as a safe investment for the long hall.”

Stepan and Timmins say the transaction clearly shows that investment interest in Collier County is strong.

Olympus Ventures did not immediately return a call for comment.