Consolidated-Tomoka Land Co. buys Whole Foods Market Centre

BUYER: Golden Arrow First St Sarasota LLC, Daytona Beach

SELLER: Casto-Zenith Venture LLC

PROPERTY: 1401-1451 First St., Sarasota

PRICE: $19.1 million

LAW FIRM ON DEED: Greene Hamrick Quinlan & Schermer PA, Bradenton

PLANS, DESCRIPTION:
Daytona Beach-based Consolidated-Tomoka Land Co. has purchased the 59,000-square-foot Whole Foods Market Centre property in downtown Sarasota for $19.1 million.

The price equated to $324 per square foot. That figure is more than double the two-year average price per square foot for retail space ($138) in the Tampa Bay area, according to the CoStar Group.

The retail center is anchored by a 36,000-square-foot Whole Foods Market grocery store. The remaining 23,000 square feet includes a Starbucks retail store and a parking garage. The property is 98% occupied.

The Whole Foods Market portion of the property is under a long-term lease, with about 10 years remaining on the current term. The remaining lease term for the balance of the retail space is about 2.5 years.

This transaction was done as part of a 1031 tax-deferred exchange.

Consolidated-Tomoka Land has hired Casto Southeast Realty Services, the original developer, to continue to manage and lease the property.

John Albright, president and CEO of Consolidated-Tomoka Land, says that the shorter term on the 23,000 square feet will allow the company the opportunity to improve its return as downtown Sarasota continues to grow.

The purchase was the publicly traded real estate company's largest acquisition to date and brings its total investments year-to-date to about $70 million.

Consolidated-Tomoka Land owns a portfolio of income properties and loan investments across the United States and more than 10,500 acres of land in the Daytona Beach.