Macy's buys department store in Shops at Wiregrass

BUYER: Macy's Florida Stores LLC (principals: Dennis Broderick, Joel Belsky and Stephen O'Bryan), Cincinnati

SELLER: GoodForest LLC

PROPERTY: 28233 Paseo Drive, Wesley Chapel

PRICE: $5 million

LAW FIRM ON DEED: Lisa Hopps Esq., Cleveland

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: Cincinnati-based national retailer Macy's Inc. purchased its 138,004-square-foot department store building for $5 million.

The price equated to $36 per square foot.

Macy's occupied the 1.63-acre site in The Shops at Wiregrass since the department store was built in 2008. Greg Lenners, general manger for The Shops at Wiregrass, says the closing was delayed because it involved subdividing the property from the rest of the open-air retail center.

Macy's is one of three anchors at the 800,000-square-foot retail complex, which also includes JCPenney and Dillard's. Forest City Enterprises Inc. of Cleveland and The Goodman Co. of West Palm Beach developed the Wesley Chapel mall, which opened in late 2008. The center is 93% occupied.

“Things have been going simply great for us,” Lenners says. “We just passed our fourth year. Things are getting better and better with the Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel that opened next door in October.”