Devonshire REIT buys Twelve Oaks Shopping Center

BUYER: DFG-Bradenton FL LLC (agent: Douglas Dymarkowski), Whitehouse, Ohio
SELLER: E J Twelve Oaks
PROPERTY: 7290 55th Ave E., Bradenton
PRICE: $10.8 million
PREVIOUS PRICE: $11.2 million, November 2006

PLANS, DESCRIPTION:
Devonshire REIT Inc., a Whitehouse, Ohio-based private real estate investment trust, purchased the Twelve Oaks Shopping Center for $10.8 million.

The price equated to $134 per square foot. That figure is close to the two-year average price per square foot for retail space ($129) in the Tampa Bay area, according to the CoStar Group.

The 80,499-square-foot neighborhood center is located at the intersection of State Road 70 and Interstate 75. Anchored by a Publix grocery store and Gecko's restaurant, the center is 100% occupied. It was updated in 2013 with a new parking lot, lights and landscaping.

An allowance for a new roof was included in the purchase price with the seller.

“We love the location right off I-75,” says Mike Denman, executive vice president of real estate operations for Devonshire REIT. “The price was also right for us. Southwest Florida is a target of ours for 2015 and 2016. ... We actually think there could be small redevelopment opportunities inside the center with relocating some tenants.”

Tom Strauss and Matt Yaniglos of LandQwest Commercial represented the buyer.

The purchase marks Devonshire REIT's first property in Florida. It increases Devonshire's total assets under management to $475 million and pushes its total gross leasable area to more than 4.7 million square feet.

Devonshire REIT owns, operates, and develops shopping centers and other retail properties in the Midwestern, Great Lakes and Southeastern United States. Its current portfolio consists of 54 properties.