Trio of drug store deals totals nearly $17 million

Naples/Fort Myers

Storage sale: A company associated with a REIT belonging to California-based SmartStop Self Storage has a bought a North Fort Myers facility. It paid $15.7 million for the property, according to Lee County property records. The 78,000-square-foot storage facility is at 18301 N. Tamiami Trail and is the company’s 33rd location in Florida. The 780-unit facility was built as a single-tenant warehouse in 1955 and converted to storage in October. The purchase was made by Strategic Storage Growth Trust III, a “private company sponsored by an affiliate of SmartStop Self Storage REIT” based in Maryland. SmartStop owns or manages 183 properties made up of 127,600 units and 14.5 million rentable square feet in 22 states and Canada.

That’s lit: Opulent Lighting and Design has leased 4,512 square feet of space in Bonita Springs. The company took two units at 28210 Old U.S. 41 and will use the space for offices and storage. Opulent specializes in event planning with a focus on lighting for holidays, events, weddings and trade shows. The family-owned company is moving from its current space at 6350 Techster Blvd. in Fort Myers.

Church and state: Construction has started on the first phase of an affordable housing apartment community in Fort Myers. The complex, on Michigan Avenue, is being built by a group that includes The Diocese of Venice and local developers National Development of America. The project, St. Peter Claver Place Apartments, has been in the works for about seven years and is aimed at meeting “the critical demand for affordable rental housing in Southwest Florida.” Phase one will consist of 135 rental units. Rent will range from $600 to $1,300 per month. Total construction will be $26 million. Fort Myers based National was founded in Bradenton in 1974. According to its website, it has developed affordable apartment communities in half a dozen states, including Indiana, New York and Louisiana. It has 53 developments totaling 4,837 residences in Florida.

Tampa/St. Petersburg

Country living: A 38.77-acre piece of land in Plant City is for sale. The Hillsborough County property on State Road 574 is zoned for multifamily and sits next to land for a proposed 98-unit townhouse community and where a charter school is being developed. It is about 10 minutes from downtown Plant City. The property is made up of 18.65 acres of upland with about 31 acres located in Flood Zone A. The asking price is $5.5 million.

Medicinal superstore:  As if selling just about everything wasn’t enough. Walmart is now in the medical business. The chain, one of the largest retailers in the world, opened three health centers in the Tampa area in April. The centers — in St. Petersburg, Zephyrhills and Pinellas Park — are inside the chain’s superstores, according to the company. They average nearly 6,000 square feet and offer services you don’t usually see outside of a traditional doctor’s office or walk-in clinic — primary care, labs, X-ray and EKG, behavioral health and dental. 

Sarasota/Manatee

Drug deals: Two more Walgreens stores have sold in the area, bringing the total number changing hands on the Gulf Coast this year to at least seven. One of those was in Sarasota at 3601 Bee Ridge Road. That one was bought by an LLC whose address matches that of University Park-based Benderson Development. It paid $6.8 million. The second is in Tampa at 3863 S. Dale Mabry Highway. It was bought by an LLC with an address matching a Miami firm named the Orion Real Estate Group. It sold for $5.6 million according to Hillsborough County property records. But it’s not just Walgreens being sold. A CVS store at 8546 S. Tamiami Trail in Sarasota County has been sold. The buyer was an LLC tied to an address in Sayville, New York, a hamlet on Long Island. The buyer paid $4.5 million for the property.

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