Barron Collier Cos., FoxRock buy Newgate Center for $8.75 million

BUYER: GC Partnership Ltd. (50% interest) and FoxRock Newgate 5150 Realty LLC (50%)
SELLER: Executive Development Corp.
PROPERTY: 959 Castello Drive, Naples
PRICE: $18.75 million
PREVIOUS PRICE: $361,000, March 1988
LAW FIRM ON DEED: Roetzel & Andress LPA, Naples

PLANS, DESCRIPTION:
The Barron Collier Cos. and Boston-based FoxRock Properties purchased the three-building Newgate Center office development for $18.75 million.

The price equated to $234 per square foot. That figure is higher than the two-year average price per square foot for office space ($112) in Southwest Florida, according to the CoStar Group.

The 20-year-old development features a seven-story tower with 54,227 square feet of space and two smaller buildings with 12,927 square feet and 12,905 square feet, respectively.
The entire center is 100% leased to several businesses including Raymond James, Newgate Surgery Center and McLaughlin & Stern LLP, as well as attorneys, accountants, doctors and other professional office users. The tower building is anchored by PNC Bank.

“Barron Collier Cos. and FoxRock Properties recognize that Newgate Center is a premier Class-A office center in a very desirable, central location in Naples,”The buyers were attracted to the location of the property and said they do not have plans to make changes to the center, said Andrea McLendon, a spokeswoman for the buyers, in an email to the Business Observer. “It has been well-maintained and professionally managed with a positive leasing history for many years, and was a natural choice for a long-term investment,” she said.

The purchase marks FoxRock Properties' first commercial real estate investment in Southwest Florida. Founded in 1982, the firm buys, develops and manages commercial properties primarily in Massachusetts. It currently owns more than a million square feet of office, retail, industrial and medical space.

Barron Collier already owns a number of commercial properties in Naples, including Goodlette Corners, Granada Shoppes, Magnolia Square, Bay Landing and the soon-to-be-built Creekside Corners.