Investor group buys bank building as 1031 tax-deferred exchange

BUYER: Cross Hayes LaRoche Inc. (principals: Timothy Cross, Ronald LaRoche and James Hayes), Coral Springs
SELLER: GFP Naples Property LLC
PROPERTY: 4898 Davis Blvd., Naples
PRICE: $2.58 million
PREVIOUS PRICE: $1.64 million, December 2008
LAW FIRM ON DEED: Satterlee Stephens Burke & Burke LLP, New York City

PLANS, DESCRIPTION:
A Coral Springs investment group purchased a 4,520-square-foot Bank of America bank building for $2.58 million.

The price equated to $571 per square foot. That figure is higher than the two-year average price per square foot for retail space ($144) in Southwest Florida, according to the CoStar Group.

Bank of America has leased the building, which occupies a 0.52-acre parcel in Kings Lake Square, since it was constructed in 1988. It was renovated in 2011.

“We were looking for a stable tenant for a 1031 [tax-deferred exchange],” says Timothy Cross, president of the investment group. “It has about five years remaining on its lease. It's in a shopping center with Publix that was recently redeveloped.”

The investors previously sold office and industrial properties in Coral Springs and Duval County and now consider the bank property a long-term hold, according to Cross.

The purchase price equated to a payoff ratio based on income (capitalization rate) of 5.2%.

The purchase entity, Cross Hayes LaRoche Inc., mortgaged the property to Coconut Grove Bank for $250,000.