What a difference a year makes! Retail real estate in Miami is not dead nor in the depths of huge vacancy rates and declining rents; current vacancy rate is 4.3 percent and rental rates have slipped by 0.1 percent over the past year. Let’s explore several indicators of the value and use of the current state of the shopping center industry, restaurant space, entertainment space and big-box retailers. South Florida restaurant space, due to COVID-19 restrictions, was not open to customers over the last 18 months. Many anticipated only a few restaurants to survive with lots of second-generation restaurant space expected to be given back to landlords. Due to the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program and restaurateurs flocking to Miami from across the country — mainly the Northeast, especially New York City — the glut of restaurant space vacancy never occurred. When there is available second-generation restaurant space, it gets leased quickly. South Florida has seen national chain quick-service restaurants (QSR) looking for ghost kitchens which restricts customers to pick-up and delivery. Restaurant sales are back to pre-COVID-19 levels beginning the second quarter this year. The restaurant market appears to be healthy, again. News is not so great …
DAVENPORT, FLA. — Berkadia has secured $43.2 million in acquisition financing for Legends at ChampionsGate, a 252-unit multifamily community located outside of Orlando. Mitch Sinberg and Matthew Robbins of Berkadia secured the financing on behalf of Taurus Investment Holdings, which acquired the property for $53.8 million from an undisclosed seller. The three-year, floating-rate, interest-only loan was underwritten at a 75 percent loan-to-cost ratio and inclues additional funds to finance capital improvements. Located at 8101 Champions Circle, Legends at ChampionsGate was built in 2002 and includes one-, two- and three-bedroom floor plans. The units include built-in shelving, digital thermostats, hardwood style flooring, walk-in closets and private balconies. Community amenities include a swimming pool, fitness center, playground, business center and yoga room. Situated 26.5 miles south of downtown Orlando, the community is approximately 7.2 miles from Interstate 4.
ORLANDO, FLA. — Newport Capital Partners has acquired West Colonial Oaks, a 160,792-square-foot, grocery-anchored shopping center situated on the southwest corner of West Colonial Drive and North Hiawassee Road in Orlando. Newport Capital acquired the property via its Newport Capital Partners Fund III. The property was sourced and acquired off-market from a private investor. Newmark arranged acquisition financing through Ameris Bank. The seller and sales price were not disclosed. West Colonial Oaks is currently 94 percent leased and its largest tenant is national discount retailer Ollie’s Bargain Outlet. The property’s other tenants include Fancy Fruit & Produce, Office Depot, Crazy Buffet, Family Dollar, Olive Garden and Optum Primary Care. The shopping center is shadow-anchored by The Home Depot and is also close to employment and education drivers including Valencia College, Orlando Health Central Hospital and the Seaboard Industrial neighborhood, which is home to Amazon’s 1.1 million-square-foot distribution center.
ST. PETERSBURG, FLA. — Tricera Capital has acquired a ground-floor retail space at Related Group’s recently completed ICON Central, a mixed-use development in St. Petersburg. The transaction totaled $11.1 million and included the adjoining Union Trust Bank building. In total, the ground-floor retail space and historic bank building span nearly 35,000 square feet of rentable space. Related Group was the seller. Currently, about 7,000 square feet of the retail space is leased to BurgerFi and Watts Dental, which are open now. Related Group constructed the 368-unit ICON Central on an entire city block along Central Avenue. As part of its redevelopment, Related renovated the bank building, which was originally constructed in 1926, for commercial use. Scott Wadler and Alec Fox of Berkadia arranged $9.9 million in acquisition financing on behalf of Tricera. Money360 provided the financing.
The past year has been a long and winding ride, and some unexpected trends have been taking place in the Miami office market, between the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and through its recovery to date. Logically, one would expect that an ongoing pandemic keeping corporate offices closed and employees working from home would negatively affect occupancy levels and lead to a deceleration in asking rents for office space. On the contrary, the Miami office market has remained solid, and while the area is a natural draw for tourism and entertainment, an increasing number of companies also recognize it as a sought-after location from which to operate their businesses. Tech’s influence on rents Miami has been one of the most active office markets in the nation thus far in 2021. While office markets in the Northeast and California remain partly closed due to several public health initiatives and related business constraints, Miami’s pro-business culture — coupled with Florida’s lack of state income taxes and business development efforts rolled out by Miami Mayor Francis Suarez and the Miami-Dade County Beacon Council — have ensured that the city’s economic engine kept running. Case in point, not only did Class A rental rates …
TAMPA, FLA. — Tampa-based Sila Realty Trust Inc. has sold 29 data centers across 18 states to Mapletree Industrial Trust, an industrial REIT listed on the Singapore Exchange. The sales price was approximately $1.3 billion. The transaction is expected to be completed in one or more closings during the third quarter of 2021. In total, the data center portfolio spans 3.3 million square feet of net leasable area. The portfolio is 87.8 percent leased to 32 tenants, including Fortune Global 500 and publicly traded companies with investment-grade credit. Only 1.7 percent of the leases are expiring in the next three financial years. Sila’s fiscal year ends on December 31st. About 89.4 percent of the leases in the portfolio have yearly rental escalations in the 1.5 percent to 3 percent range. With this acquisition, Mapletree Industrial Trust will have presence in 13 of the top 15 data center markets. Sila Realty Trust is a public non-traded real estate investment trust.
MIAMI — Berkadia has secured a $52 million bridge loan to refinance Pier 19 Residences & Marina, a 199-unit apartment community along Miami River. Charles Foschini and Christopher Apone of Berkadia secured the financing on behalf of the sponsor, Neology Life Development Group, a Miami-based residential and commercial real estate firm. LoanCore Capital originated the two-year, floating-rate loan with three 12-month extension options at a 72 percent loan-to-value ratio. Suzanne Amaducci-Adams and Alexandra Lehson of Bilzin Sumberg were the legal team representing the venture in the refinancing and initial financing. Located at 1951 NW S River Drive, Pier 19 Residences & Marina is located 3.8 miles from downtown Miami and 4.9 miles from Miami International Airport. The property was originally built in 2011 as condominiums. In 2018, Neology purchased the 21-story property and invested more than $2 million to transform the property into a lifestyle-driven residential community. Pier 19 offers one-, two- and three-bedroom units ranging from 720 to over 1,200 square feet. Individual units feature granite countertops, marble and ceramic flooring, stainless steel kitchen appliances, walk-in closets, in-unit washer/dryer and balconies. Community amenities include a marina with 10 slips, a pool deck with pool and hot tub, a dog …
TAMPA, FLA. — Plaza Advisors has arranged the sale of Horizon Park, a 215,713-square-foot shopping center located at 3904 W Hillsborough Ave. in Tampa. An entity doing business as CRP II – Horizon Park LLC sold the property for $21.9 million. The buyer was not disclosed. Jim Michalak and Keith Nurre of Plaza Advisors represented the seller and were the only brokers involved in the transaction. Built in 1971, Horizon Park was renovated in 1980 and 1988 and was 86 percent leased at the time of sale. In 2011, Plaza Advisors arranged the sale of the center to the seller for $18.9 million. The shopping center’s anchor tenants include dd’s Discount, Conn’s Home Plus, Northern Tool + Equipment and Guitar Center. Additional tenants include Dollar General, Pizza Hut, Metro PCS, Amscot and Sally Beauty, as well as two outparcels occupied by Wells Fargo, Optical Outlets and Applebee’s.
BOCA RATON, FLA. — CBRE has arranged the $99.5 million sale of One Town Center, a 191,294-square-foot office tower located in Boca Raton. Christian Lee, José Lobón, Amy Julian, Andrew Chilgren and Royce Rose of CBRE represented the seller, a joint venture between CP Group (formerly Crocker Partners) and Siguler Guff & Co. Michael Erickson from Tower Commercial Real Estate is the leasing broker for the property. The buyer is Singapore-based Prime US REIT. KBS serves as the U.S.-based asset manager for Prime’s portfolio, which included identifying and sourcing One Town Center on Prime’s behalf. Additionally, CP Group will continue to manage the tower. One Town Center is a 10-story building with an adjacent 435-space parking garage and 274 surface parking spaces. Located on Lennox Drive, the property is situated in Boca Raton’s Midtown district near Interstate 95 and Boca Raton Airport. Originally developed in 1991 as the worldwide headquarters for WR Grace, One Town Center was developed by Tom Crocker. WR Grace vacated the property in 2001 and the space was reabsorbed by Tyco, a national security systems company. MetLife purchased the building in 2007 and Tyco vacated it in 2012. The property was sold to Crocker Partners (now …
MIAMI — Madison Realty Capital, a New York City-based private real estate equity firm, has provided a $105 million loan to Miami-based developer Fort Partners for the acquisition and renovation of the Four Seasons Hotel Miami located in the city’s Brickell district. Located at 1435 Brickell Ave., Four Seasons Hotel Miami is a 221-room hotel that anchors a 70-story, mixed-use tower. The tower also features Class A office space, residential condominiums, an Equinox health club, retail space and a parking garage. Fort Partners plans to renovate the property by enhancing room configurations, the pool deck and lobby, as well as upgrading the food and beverage options. Millennium Partners developed the property in 2003 and Handel Architects led the design. The acquisition marks the fourth Four Seasons property in Fort Partners’ South Florida portfolio alongside hotels located in Surfside, Fort Lauderdale and Palm Beach. In 2019, Madison Realty Capital provided a $210 million loan to Fort Partners for its construction of the Four Seasons Hotel and Private Residences Fort Lauderdale. Jim Dockerty, Kevin Davis and Mark Fisher of JLL arranged the financing on behalf of Fort Partners.