Firm seeks to unwrap portfolio

Two Hostess Brands commercial real estate properties on the Gulf Coast are up for sale in a nationwide process that covers 61 listings in 22 states.

Hostess, the firm behind snack cake brands Ho Hos and Twinkies, among others, filed for a highly publicized bankruptcy last year. The real estate firm behind the property sale, suburban Chicago-based Hilco Real Estate, set June 12 for the call for offers date. Assets won't be sold in a live-auction format, says a Hilco spokeswoman.

Five Florida Hostess properties are up for sale, including the two on the Gulf Coast. One building is a 6,080-square-foot distribution facility under the Merita Bakery Discount store brand name in Clearwater. That property, according to Hilco, was built in 1987 and is two miles from Interstate 275. The other Gulf Coast Hostess property in the sale is a 4,825-square-foot distribution center in Naples. Built in 1990, that building has eight drive-in loading doors, Hilco states in a sales flyer.

The remaining Florida properties in the sale include a 78,500-square-foot truck yard and garage in Jacksonville; a retail/warehouse/loading site with a two-story office space in West Palm Beach; and a retail/loading site in Daytona Beach.

“The buildings offer a number of structural and location-related attributes that will be very attractive to a wide variety of potential buyers,” Hilco Senior Vice President Joel Schneider says in a statement. “As such, we expect this sale to attract active interest from a broad spectrum of real estate investors, developers and end users.” 

There are no asking prices or minimum bids for the properties. For specific data on the actual buildings, in Florida and nationwide, visit hostessrealestate.com. There is a free registration process to access the information. A Hilco spokeswoman says a form contract will be available on the website within a few weeks.