FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. — A joint venture between Carey Watermark Investors Inc. and Gencom Group has purchased a majority interest in the Ritz-Carlton, Fort Lauderdale, an upscale hotel in Fort Lauderdale. The property comprises 166 hotel rooms, 34 third-party owned condominium hotel units and 28 third-party owned residential units. The hotel features 25,000 square feet of meeting and function space, an 8,500-square-foot spa, outdoor infinity pool, 29,000-square-foot pool deck, fitness center, business center and four managed food and beverage outlets. The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Co. will continue to operate the hotel. According to the South Florida Business Journal, the hotel sold for $45 million. Hodges Ward Elliott represented the seller, RCFL Investor LLC, an affiliate of Gencom. The new ownership is planning a $9 million renovation to the hotel’s lobby, spa and main restaurant that should wrap up in the fourth quarter of this year. The transaction is the third joint venture purchase between Carey Watermark and Gencom. The other two transactions include Ritz-Carlton, Philadelphia and Ritz-Carlton, Key Biscayne Miami. Together, the three transactions represent a total investment of more than $500 million.
Florida
TALLAHASSEE, FLA. — Grandbridge Real Estate Capital has closed a $25.6 million first mortgage refinancing on Doubletree by Hilton, a 243-room hotel in downtown Tallahassee. The property is located within walking distance to the Florida Capitol Building, Florida State University and Florida A&M University. The hotel features a full-service bar and restaurant, banquet and meeting rooms, fitness center, swimming pool and parking garage. Bill Mattice and Phillip Cox of Grandbridge’s Greenville, S.C., office arranged the loan through Goldman Sachs in a CMBS loan structure.
FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. — The Carlyle Group has acquired the Lauderdale Marine Center, the nation’s largest yacht repair facility in terms of volume capability. The project is located at 2001 S.W. 20th St. in Fort Lauderdale. The global asset manager purchased the 50-acre facility via Carlyle Realty Partners VII, a U.S. real estate investment fund. The facility features a boatyard, marina and marine service center with 19 covered sheds, three marine travel lifts and 156 wet slips. The marine center’s offices and work stations are leased to 60 on-site contractors that provide services such as fiberglass repair, electrical, painting, brokerage and insurance. The Carlyle Group plans to add more pavement to allow more yacht repair space, complete renovations to an adjacent boatyard to incorporate into the facility and develop a new management and leasing office on-site. Julie Fisher Berry of Stiles Realty represented the sellers, Selvin Passen and business partner Morio Mito, in the transaction. The sales price was not disclosed, but the Sun-Sentinel reports that the transaction could have totaled $140 million to $150 million.
ORLANDO, FLA. — McCraney Property Co. has secured a new lease for 99,214 square feet at Bent Oak Industrial Park in Orlando. The industrial park sits on 39 acres and consists of two Class A industrial buildings at 1701 and 1801 Boice Pond Road, spanning 703,920 square feet. Shepard Exposition Services, an Atlanta-based national event service enterprise, will occupy space at Building 200. With this transaction, the asset is close to 50 percent leased prior to construction completion. Matt Sullivan of Cite Partners represented McCraney Property Co. in the lease transaction.
FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. — Suffolk Construction has delivered The Manor: Lauderdale by the Sea, an eight-story, 264-unit luxury apartment community in Fort Lauderdale. The $33.4 million property includes a parking garage, fitness center with zen shower, cyber café, clubhouse, formal meeting and dining space, infinity-edge pool, hot tub built into the center of the building and private poolside cabanas for the second-floor deck units. The Related Group is the developer of the project, and RLC Associates is the architect.
PALM BAY, FLA. — Calkain Cos. has brokered the sale of a freestanding Verizon Wireless store located at 1109 Malabar Road N.E. in Palm Bay. Verizon Wireless has seven years remaining on its initial lease, which is guaranteed by Cellular Sales of Knoxville. Coast Realty represented the unnamed buyer that purchased the asset in cash at a 6.67 percent cap rate.
TAMPA, FLA. — Skanska has signed a $60 million contract to renovate and expand the Tampa International Airport (TPA) Main Terminal building in Tampa. When completed, the project will add 53,819 square feet to the terminal’s third-floor transfer level, with nearly 15,069 square feet of indoor public seating and large outdoor terraces. Skanska began construction of the expansion in December 2014. The renovation will begin in July 2015, and the total project is slated for completion in November 2017.
TRINITY, FLA. — The Sembler Co. has broken ground on the 65,000-square-foot Shoppes at Trinity Lakes, a Publix-anchored shopping center located in the southeast quadrant of State Road 54 and Trinity Boulevard in Trinity. In addition to the 45,600-square-foot Publix and 1,400-square-foot Publix Liquor Store, Sembler has signed leases with retailers new to the Trinity market, including Orange Theory Fitness, Moe’s Southwest Grill, China Wok, Nail Dior Lounge, Hair Cuttery and Majik Touch Cleaners. The secured leases total nearly 11,000 square feet. The Shoppes at Trinity Lakes also includes three outparcels, two of which are under contract.
Thorofare Capital Provides $12M Acquisition Loan for Four Points by Sheraton Orlando Studio City
by John Nelson
ORLANDO, FLA. — Los Angeles-based Thorofare Capital has provided a $12 million acquisition loan for Four Points by Sheraton Orlando Studio City. The 301-room hotel is located on International Drive in Orlando and is directly across from Universal Orlando Resort. The seller, a New York City-based asset management firm, previously bought the defaulted CMBS note in a large pool and subsequently foreclosed on the prior owner. The non-recourse, fixed-rate bridge loan was sized to 80 percent of the purchase price. Thorofare capitalizes its transactions through a series of private closed-end funds on behalf of high-net-worth and institutional investors. Thorofare has funded in excess of $500 million across 26 states since 2011.
TAMPA, FLA. — Atlanta-based Pollack Shores Real Estate Group, in a joint venture with a client advised by Heitman LLC, has purchased Lexington Park in Tampa’s Westchase district. The joint venture purchased the 400-unit luxury apartment community for $64.5 million, according to the Tampa Bay Business Journal. The acquisition brings Pollack Shores’ current Florida portfolio to more than 4,400 units totaling more than $550 million. Pollack Shores plans to upgrade Lexington Park’s apartment interiors with wood plank flooring, new cabinetry, granite and quartz countertops, stainless steel appliances, new lighting and plumbing fixtures. The company will also renovate the 12,500-square-foot clubhouse, fitness center and pool areas. Matrix Residential, Pollack Shores’ multifamily residential management division, will manage the property. Pat Jones of Walker & Dunlop represented the undisclosed seller in the transaction. Mark Sixour and Elliott Throne of HFF arranged acquisition financing on behalf of Pollack Shores.