Ronto Group Inc., partners buy Waterford Landing property

BUYER: Waterford Landing Acquisitions LLC (RP Waterford Landing Acquisitions LLC), Dallas

SELLER: David Johnson as trustee of the WS Trust, Wade Trust and Shannon Trust, LB Anderson & Co. Inc. and Leah Rae Light
PROPERTY: a portion of land north Winkler Extension between Veronica Shoemaker Avenue and Jacksonville Street, Fort Myers
PRICE: $8.07 million

SELLER: LB Anderson Construction Inc. (48.2% interest) and LB Andersen Co. Inc. (51.8%)
PRICE: $1.63 million

PREVIOUS PRICE: $1.77 million, June 2009

LAW FIRM ON DEED: Bolaños Truxton PA, Fort Myers

PLANS, DESCRIPTION:
A joint venture of Naples-based The Ronto Group Inc., Boston-based Rockpoint Group LLC and Corbelis Management purchased the 256-acre Waterford Landing property adjacent to Province Park for $9.7 million.

The price equated to $37,890 per acre.

The property, located near Alderman's Walk, is fully zoned and entitled for 1,012 units in a mixture of single-family and multifamily homes. The southern portion of the development — a section devoted to townhomes — already has infrastructure, sewer, lift stations, water, fire hydrants and roads. The northern phase, the single-family home portion, is partially graded. A community development district was also formed for the property but never funded.

The property was last developed in 2007.

“We were primarily attracted to the property by its infill location in Fort Myers, which has seen a lot of strength lately,” says Anthony Solomon, executive vice president of The Ronto Group. “The market has a lot of builders building homes. We're looking to get in the ground very quickly so by June or July we can be delivering lots to builders.”

The new owners plan to construct a fitness center, pool and playground area.

Randy Thibaut and William Rollins of Land Solutions Inc. handled the transaction.

“The property has almost $10 million worth of infrastructure in place,” Thibaut says. “It's essentially shovel ready.”