Sembler, Forge Capital fund buys Dale Mabry Shopping Center

BUYER: FREP III Dale Mabry Retail LLC (Forge-Sembler Partners LLC), Tampa
SELLER: S-O Sweet FL Retail I LL
PROPERTY: 2525 N. Dale Mabry Highway, Tampa
PRICE: $11.55 million
PREVIOUS PRICE: $8.8 million, November 2009
LAW FIRM ON DEED: Englander Fischer, St. Petersburg

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: A joint venture investment fund of The Sembler Co. and Forge Capital Partners, Forge Real Estate Partners III, purchased the 56,097-square-foot Dale Mabry Shopping Center for $11.55 million.

The price equated to $206 per square foot. That figure is higher than the two-year average price per square foot for retail space ($146) in the Tampa Bay area, according to the CoStar Group.

The neighborhood shopping center is anchored by a 46,147-square-foot Sweetbay grocery store. St. Petersburg-based Sembler will provide property management and leasing services for the center. The development is fully occupied.

The purchase marks Forge Real Estate Partners III's first acquisition. The joint venture is reportedly actively seeking additional grocery-anchored shopping centers throughout the Southeast and Puerto Rico.

“The primary purpose of the fund is to invest in grocery anchored centers and this is a great first asset to start with,” Sembler CEO Ron Wheeler says in a press release. “We have an active pipeline and continue to look for opportunities throughout the Southeast, Texas and Puerto Rico.”

The buyers mortgaged the property to Wells Fargo Bank NA for $8.23 million.

Sembler has developed more than 325 projects totaling 27 million square feet and currently leases and manages more than 12.5 million square feet.

Forge Capital Partners is a Tampa-based commercial real estate investment and investment management company that sponsors value-add retail real estate private equity funds.