Town N Country's Bay Plaza sells for $2.95 million

BUYER: 5537 Sheldon LLC (principal: Daniel Pepper), Tampa

SELLER: A. Richard and Susan Nernberg

PROPERTY: 5537 Sheldon Road, Tampa

PRICE: $2.95 million

PREVIOUS PRICE: $1.86 million, October 1992

LAW FIRM ON DEED: Gibbons Neuman Bello Segall Allen & Halloran PA, Tampa

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: Tampa real estate investor Dan Pepper purchased the 37,616-square-foot Bay Plaza retail strip center for $2.95 million.

The price equated to $78 per square foot.

Located in Tampa's Town N Country neighborhood, the center is anchored by JSA Healthcare. It was 85% occupied at the time of the sale.

“We just attracted Batteries Plus to be end cap,” Pepper says. “That will take us to about 90% [occupied]. This property was a lot more attractive than what we're seeing for apartments, where you're lucky to see a 7% [payoff ratio based on income] cap for a [class] B property. The return is more immediate based on the price you can get for the income it's generating. ”

Pepper says the capitalization rate for the property was 9.5% including the currental income and the future income from Batteries Plus. Along with leasing up the remainder of the vacant tenant space, the property features an outparcel site with a small building, which Pepper is considering redeveloping.

Richard Harper of Harper Realty Inc. has been retained to manage and market the property.

Pepper is best known as an apartment investor. Among other properties, he owns the 16-unit Amber Oaks Apartments on Davis Boulevard in Tampa.

The purchase entity 5537 Sheldon LLC mortgaged the property to Branch Banking & Trust Co. for $1.8 million.