Summit Splashes into St. Petersburg

Summit Real Estate Group, a St. Louis-based investment firm specializing in industrial and retail properties in select U.S. markets, made a splash into Florida last month when it bought a five-building industrial and flex portfolio in two St. Petersburg office parks.

The $17.4 million deal added three buildings in the Westbay Corporate Center into their portfolio and two in the Metropointe Commerce Center.

In all, Summit acquired 230,586 square feet from Farallon Capital Management. The properties, developed in the mid-1980s and mid-1990s, respectively, were a combined 82% occupied at the time by Kingpin Tattoo Supply and others.

John Dunphy, an executive vice president at commercial real estate brokerage firm JLL, who together with Vice President Scott Altieri represented Farallon in the sale, says the two parks are in “spectacular locations” and were purchased at below replacement cost.

“This is good product in Pinellas County, which is a very mature market that’s largely built out. So it’s a very good time to buy there,” Dunphy says. “Summit is working to expand its footprint in the Southeast, and naturally they looked at Florida, given the economic climate here. They, like a lot of people, believe in Florida’s long-term growth potential, with all the population moving to Sun Belt states.”

Dunphy predicts, as well, that Summit will become a much more active buyer in the years ahead.

Founded in 1995, Summit has acquired dozens of properties through a series of funds and developed more than three million square feet of space valued in excess of $350 million, according to its website.

Although its investments have been concentrated in markets like Dallas, Denver, Houston, Atlanta and St. Louis, the company had previously dipped its corporate toe into St. Petersburg. In 2007, the company bought a 28,000-square-foot property called St. Peters Centre, its website notes.