Birmingham investment company buys Publix-anchored River Walk

BUYER: Fairway - River Walk LLC (principals: Michael Thompson, Guy Clifton, Thomas McGough and Sims Garrison), Birmingham, Ala.

SELLER: USA Real Estate Profit Funds III LP

PROPERTY: 11332-11422 Ridge Road, New Port Richey

PRICE: $8.45 million

PREVIOUS PRICE: $7.86 million, December 2002

LAW FIRM ON DEED: Driver McAfee Peek & Hawthorne PL, Jacksonville

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: Birmingham, Ala.-based real estate investment company Fairway Investments LLC purchased the 69,083-square-foot River Walk shopping center for $8.45 million.

The price equated to $122 per square foot. That figure is lower than the two-year average price per square foot for retail space ($146) in the Tampa Bay area, according to the CoStar Group.

Located on a 9.15-acre site, the center is anchored by a Publix grocery store. It is 95% occupied. Center's tenants include Subway, Chase Bank and Stassi's Italian Grill.

Mike Milano and Ron Schultz of Colliers International Tampa Bay represented the seller USA Real Estate Profit Funds III LP.

“River Walk is a high-quality center with high traffic supported by the Publix anchor,” Milano says in a news release. “Considering the low supply of quality centers, such as this one on the market, there is a high demand for grocery-anchored centers among institutional investors.”

Originally created as an investment vehicle and diversification for the owners of Caterpillar dealer Thompson Tractor Co., Fairway Investments now holds a portfolio of more than 50 retail, multifamily, industrial, office and single-family residential projects valued at more than $700 million. The company owns 14 commercial properties in Florida, including Mitchell Crossings in New Port Richey, Olde Village Englewood in Englewood, Shoppes at Citrus Park in Tampa and University Village in St. Petersburg.