ORLANDO, FLA. — JMA Ventures and Machete Group, master developers of Westcourt in downtown Orlando, have selected Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants as the new hospitality partner at the 8.5-acre sports and entertainment district. Kimpton is part of the IHG Hotels & Resorts family of hospitality brands. The new 261-room, 11-story hotel will be the seventh Kimpton hotel in Florida upon completion. The property will feature over 16,000 square feet of indoor meeting space, a full-service restaurant and lobby bar, cafe and pool bar and pool lounge. The City of Orlando recently approved Westcourt, which will sit adjacent to Kia Center, home of the NBA’s Orlando Magic. Other uses at the development will include apartments, a 3,500-seat live entertainment venue, parking garage, offices, shops, restaurants and 1.5 acres of green space. The development team expects to deliver the project by March 2027 and create approximately 3,400 jobs for the region.
Florida
Buca di Beppo Files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy, Plans to Keep 45 Remaining Restaurants Open
by John Nelson
ORLANDO, FLA. — Orlando-based Italian dining chain Buca di Beppo has voluntarily filed for bankruptcy under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. USA Today reports that the restaurant chain claimed it owed 30 separate creditors approximately $50 million at the time of filing. The restructuring will involve 44 core restaurants, as well as a new store currently being opened. According to a press release issued by the company, it is “committed to ensuring that the restaurants operate as usual.” Gray Reed & McGraw LLP is serving as legal advisor to the company, and CR3 Partners LLC is acting as financial advisor, as well as providing corporate leadership as the chief restructuring officer. Stout Capital is acting as investment banker on behalf of the brand. “By restructuring with the continued support of our lenders, we are paving the way toward a reinvigorated future,” says Rich Saultz, president of Buca di Beppo.
Madison Capital Secures $47M Construction Financing for Multifamily Development in Bradenton, Florida
by John Nelson
BRADENTON, FLA. — Madison Capital Group has secured a $47 million loan for the construction of Madison Bradenton, a 240-unit multifamily development to be located on the site of the former DeSoto Square Mall in Bradenton, a city on the south side of the Tampa Bay area. Peachtree Group provided the financing. Subsidiary Madison Communities is developing the project, which will feature five four-story buildings and two carriage homes. Amenities at the property will include a clubhouse, cyber lounge, swimming pool with cabanas, outdoor kitchen with grilling areas, fitness center and dog park. BenCo, an affiliate of Madison Capital Group, is serving as the general contractor. Slocum Platts Architects is the architect, and Cavoli Engineering will act as the engineer. Construction is scheduled to begin immediately, with completion scheduled for early 2026.
JACKSONVILLE, FLA. — EDEN Living has completed the development of EDEN at Kendall West, a 265-unit multifamily community situated on 20 acres in Jacksonville. Located at 9105 Tredinick Parkway, the property features 193 single-story apartments and 72 two-story townhomes. Each unit includes a private backyard, with a private garage accompanying each townhome. Units at EDEN at Kendall West range in size from 700 to 1,300 square feet, with one-, two- and three-bedroom layouts. Amenities include a clubhouse, fitness center, swimming pool, dog grooming station, dog park, club room and walking trails. Monthly rental rates at the community begin at $1,425, according to the property website.
Tom Brady Enterprises Signs 8,415 SF Office Lease at THE WELL Bay Harbor Islands in Miami
by John Nelson
MIAMI — Tom Brady Enterprises (TBE) Capital Management has signed an 8,415-square-foot office lease at THE WELL Bay Harbor Islands, a mixed-use project currently under development in Miami. TBE will relocate its headquarters to a 113,000-square-foot office building located at 1177 Kane Concourse within the development. Scheduled to open in 2025, the office building is currently 35 percent preleased. Blanca Commercial Real Estate, which serves as the leasing agent for THE WELL Bay Harbor, represented the landlord, Terra, in the lease negotiations. Colliers and Current Real Estate Advisors represented TBE. Upon completion, THE WELL Bay Harbor will also feature an eight-story condominium building, more than 22,000 square feet of amenities and a restaurant. Tom Brady Enterprises manages all business ventures of retired football player Tom Brady, including his portfolio of brands, which includes sportwear company BRADY Brands, wellness brand TB12, production company Religion of Sports and Autograph, which is dedicated to fan engagement. Brady played in the NFL for 23 seasons and won seven Super Bowls, six with the New England Patriots.
In the Tampa Bay area, industrial activity remains strong to this point in 2024. According to market research from Colliers, the industrial market closed the first quarter of the year with a vacancy rate below 6 percent. From 2019 to 2022, leasing activity increased, with some fluctuations between quarters. Meanwhile, 2023 saw more than 12.2 million square feet of renewals, expansions and new leases in the greater Tampa Bay area. The data backs up what we are seeing as brokers – a high-demand market with positive net absorption. With that, there are also several trends that have emerged in 2024. 1.) A generally competitive but well-balanced market. While the Tampa Bay industrial market is competitive, it’s overall well-balanced — favoring neither the landlord nor tenant in its current state (of course, dependent on size and submarket). This balance can be attributed to a slowdown in new construction, high occupancy rates, rising rental rates and continued strong demand. However, rates are not rising as quickly as they have been in the past few years, and tenants are selective about space and want to see several options and thoroughly survey the market before executing a deal. There are also pockets of the …
BRANDON AND TAMARAC, FLA. — A joint venture between ShopOne Centers REIT, Pantheon and a global institutional investor has acquired two shopping centers in Florida totaling 287,407 square feet. Located in Tamarac, Midway Plaza comprises 218,400 square feet. Publix anchors the property, which was 84 percent occupied at the time of sale. Walmart anchors Lithia Square in Brandon. The 69,007-square-foot property was 79 percent occupied at the time of sale. The sellers and sales price were not disclosed. This acquisition brings the joint venture’s portfolio to 1.8 million square feet of grocery-anchored retail space.
City of St. Petersburg Selects Skanska to Oversee $6.5B Redevelopment of Historic Gas Plant District, New Ballpark for Tampa Bay Rays
by John Nelson
ST. PETERSBURG, FLA. — The City of St. Petersburg has selected Skanska USA as the owner’s representative for the $6.5 billion redevelopment of the Historic Gas Plant property in St. Petersburg, including the design and construction of the new Major League Baseball stadium for the Tampa Bay Rays. The 86-acre redevelopment was announced nearly a year ago and will transform the site, which houses the Rays’ current home ballpark Tropicana Field, into an 8 million-square-foot mixed-use campus. In addition to the new stadium, plans call for new affordable housing, hotels, offices, shops, restaurants and the new home of the Woodson African American Museum of Florida. As the city’s owner’s representative, Skanska USA Building Inc. will provide project management services, including design reviews, project accounting, management of the redevelopment schedule, permitting assistance, onsite quality assurance, ensuring compliance with the development agreements and communication with area stakeholders. The Pinellas County Commission approved the project on Tuesday, July 30 — the final votes needed for the plan to move forward. The St. Petersburg City Council approved plans for the ballpark and the accompanying Historic Gas Plant District development on July 18.
CLEARWATER, FLA. — Colliers has arranged the $23 million sale of a 111,694-square-foot retail property in the Tampa Bay area. Located at 2495 Gulf to Bay Blvd. in Clearwater, the store has been leased to The Home Depot for the past 25 years, and the home improvement retailer has several years remaining on its current lease term. Eric Carlton and Jereme Snyder of Colliers represented the seller, a private institutional investor, in the transaction. The buyer was an undisclosed individual investor.
SG Holdings Delivers 578-Unit Affordable Seniors Housing Community in Miami’s Overtown Neighborhood
by John Nelson
MIAMI — SG Holdings, a partnership between Swerdlow Group, SJM Partners and Alben Duffie, has completed the housing component of Sawyer’s Walk, marking the delivery of the largest affordable senior living community in the United States within the last decade, according to the developer. The studio, one- and two-bedroom housing units, which are designated for seniors earning at or below an average of 60 percent of the area median income (AMI), sit atop Sawyer’s Walk’s shops and parking garage. Sawyer’s Walk, a $350 million mixed-use development, is underway in the Overtown neighborhood of Miami. Upon full build-out it will total 1.5 million square feet, including the 578 residential units completed that will be home to low-income seniors; 175,000 square feet of retail space committed to tenants including Target (50,000 square feet) and Aldi (25,000 square feet); a 25,000-square-foot public plaza; and 130,000 square feet of office space acquired by MSC Group that will anchor its North American cruise division headquarters. The retail component is slated to open this fall. SG Holdings broke ground on the 3.4-acre, mixed-use development in June 2021. The public-private partnership was made possible through a collaboration with the City of Miami’s Southeast Overtown/Park West Community Redevelopment …