Barron Collier Cos. CEO named to Consolidated-Tomoka board

Barron Collier Cos. CEO Blake Gable has been named to the board of directors of Consolidated-Tomoka Land Co.

Gable joins the board of the publicly held Daytona Beach firm — at one time one of Florida’s largest land owners — together with George Brokaw, of investment firm Trafelet Brokaw & Co. LLC.

Gable, who has been with the Naples-based development and agricultural concern since 1999, was a project manager on the company’s 4,000-acre, master-planned community of Ave Maria, in Collier County.

He will work on Consolidated-Tomoka’s audit and governance committees.

Barron Collier today controls 85,000 acres of land, 1.3 million square feet of commercial space and one of the largest citrus operations in South Florida, Consolidated-Tomoka notes.

“We feel fortunate to have directors with their background and experience,” Consolidated-Tomoka Chairman Laura Franklin says, in a statement.

“Their knowledge and experience align exceptionally well with the criteria established by the Board, and the needs of the company at this point in the execution of our strategic business plan.”

Consolidated-Tomoka currently owns about 45 properties totaling 2.3 million square feet of commercial and income-producing properties and roughly 5,500 acres of land in the Daytona Beach area.

Last month, the company hired commercial real estate firm JLL to market for sale its Shoppes at Sarasota Row retail complex in downtown Sarasota, which includes a Whole Foods Market.

JLL says the company intends to sell the 59,341-square-foot property as part of a corporate shift away from holding multitenanted buildings to focus on single-tenant assets.

By the end of next year, it hopes to reduce its portfolio of multitenanted properties from 16% of its portfolio down to just 3%, according to the company’s website. The company hopes to raise $125 million from the sale of five centers, including Shoppes at Sarasota Row, which it acquired in 2014 for $19.1 million.

The 3.9-acre project was completed in 2005 and is today fully leased.