Insurance group buys Publix-anchored center for $12.3M

Greenleaf Capital LLC, an arm of the company that also owns Tampa-based Homeowners Choice Property & Casualty Co. Inc., acquired a new Publix-anchored shopping center north of Orlando for $12.3 million.

The plaza, Sorrento Hills Village Shopping Center, totals 61,400 square feet and opened last year.

The Aug. 16 transaction was part of a pre-arranged buyout with the center's developer, who had obtained construction financing from Greenleaf, the real estate arm of Tampa-based HCI Group Inc.

Construction of the center began in 2014 and is today substantially complete. Five pad sites that Greenleaf also controls are available for development, sale or lease, the company states in a release. The predominance of space in the center is contained in a 45,600-square-foot Publix.

Greenleaf expects to realize a one-time gain of $2 million — or $1.3 million net of taxes — as a result of the purchase, which it also expects to have a 7.8% capitalization rate. The company financed the deal, in part, with a $9 million loan carrying a 3.75% interest rate.

“Sorrento Hills Village is a brand new shopping center located in a growing Orlando suburb,” says Greenleaf president Anthony Saravanos in the statement. “With Publix as its anchor, the center has drawn strong interest from other retailers, resulting in lease commitments for 96% of the available retail space.”

In addition to Sorrento Hills, Greenleaf also owns office buildings in Tampa and Ocala, a retail center and marina in Terra Verde and a marina and restaurant in Treasure Island.