JACKSONVILLE, FLA. — Newmark Grubb Phoenix Realty Group (NGPRG) has arranged a new 400,928-square-foot industrial lease at Northport Logistics Center, a nearly 900,000-square-foot facility located at 11530 New Berlin Road in Jacksonville. Dan Stover, Bryan Bartlett and John Richardson of NGPRG represented the landlord, Real Capital Solutions, in the lease deal. The tenant, Jacksonville-based Grimes Logistics Services Inc., will use the space for warehouse storage and distribution. Grimes Logistics is a third-party logistics company founded in 1972. NGPRG is actively marketing the remaining 471,699 square feet of space at Northport Logistics Center for lease.
MIAMI — MetLife Real Estate has secured LEED certification for three of its office buildings within Waterford at Blue Lagoon, a Class A office park in Miami. The assets include 6505 Waterford, a 166,996-square-foot property built in 1996; 6100 Waterford, a 162,878-square-foot building developed in 1991; and 6303 Waterford, a 165,996-square-foot building developed in 1993. The buildings earned the designations following MetLife Real Estate’s five-year, $3.5 million capital improvement campaign, which included restroom renovations, new marble lobby floors, Energy Star-rated roof replacements, new LED light fixtures in the atriums and the parking garage, resurfacing of the parking garage deck and a new fitness center. The U.S. Green Building Council awarded 6505 Waterford LEED Gold v4 Operations and Maintenance: Existing Buildings and LEED Silver v4 Operations and Maintenance: Existing Buildings for both 6100 Waterford and 6303 Waterford. Cushman & Wakefield’s asset services team of Peter Romero, Danny Wong, Jacky Hernandez and Maria Meyer, as well as engineers Rafael Lopez, Carlos Padilla and Javier Castro, collaborated with MetLife Real Estate in procuring the LEED designations.
TAMPA, FLA. — Independence Realty Trust Inc. has purchased an undisclosed 216-unit apartment community in Tampa’s Northdale neighborhood for $29.8 million. The REIT purchased the asset using available cash and its line of credit. Built in 1985 and renovated in 2016, the property features one- and two-bedroom units averaging 925 square feet. The asset was 93 percent occupied at the time of sale and averaged $1,192 per month in rent for the three months ending Jan. 31. The seller was undisclosed.
MELBOURNE, FLA. — Franklin Street has brokered the $8 million sale of Bridgewater Pointe Apartments, a 100-unit multifamily community located at 151 Eber Road in Melbourne. Robert Goldfinger and Matthew Kesterson of Franklin Street represented the buyer and the seller, both private investors, in the transaction. Built in 1987, the two-story apartment community features a swimming pool, clubhouse, fitness center and a business center. The property was 96 percent occupied at the time of sale. Lonnie Kitchen of Franklin Street provided insurance services for the buyer, which selected Franklin Street Management to manage the asset. Franklin Street represented the same buyer last year in its $9.9 million acquisition of Seastone Luxury Apartments in Tampa.
MIAMI — The Miami Worldcenter Community Development District (CDD), comprising property owners within the 27-acre, master-planned Miami Worldcenter in downtown Miami, has closed $74.1 million in private bond issuance. The $2 billion Miami Worldcenter development is now under construction and will feature residential, retail, office and hospitality components. At no cost to the public, the bonds will fund infrastructure upgrades within Miami Worldcenter, including modernized mass transit stations, landscaping, widened sidewalks, increased water and sewer capacity, new street lights and enhanced electrical systems. North Miami Beach-based FMSbonds Inc. was the sole underwriter of the tax-exempt bonds, which are backed by special assessments levied on property owners within the CDD. Greenberg Traurig served as bond counsel, and Squire Patton Boggs served as underwriters counsel. Billing, Cochran, Lyles, Mauro & Ramsey PA served as issuers counsel, and Fishkind & Associates served as financial advisors to the Miami Worldcenter CDD. Master developer Miami Worldcenter Associates, led by Art Falcone and Nitin Motwani, will deliver Miami Worldcenter in phases over the coming years.
WEST PALM BEACH, FLA. — Liberty Property Trust has opened the first of two new buildings within its 70-acre industrial park in West Palm Beach, Liberty Airport Center (LAC). Situated at 6017 and 6035 Southern Blvd., the two assets span 218,000 square feet and feature ESFR fire suppression systems, T5 lighting and impact glass. The recently opened LAC Building One spans 140,400 square feet and features 32-foot clear heights, 42 dock doors, two oversized doors with ramps, a 130-foot private truck court and 54- by 50-foot column spacing. LAC Building Two will span 77,760 square feet and feature 24-foot clear heights, 32 dock doors, 200-foot shared truck court and 54- by 46-foot column spacing. When complete, LAC will include seven industrial buildings totaling 642,000 square feet.
ORLANDO, FLA. — Stan Johnson Co. has arranged the $28 million sale of 14 restaurants in Central Florida leased to Ker’s WingHouse, now known as WingHouse Bar & Grill. STORE Capital, a single-tenant, net-lease real estate investment firm, purchased the 89,282-square-foot portfolio. Joshua Pardue of Stan Johnson’s New York City office led the brokerage team in the transaction.
LAKE WORTH, FLA. — Big Rock Partners has opened a welcome center and begun pre-leasing for Atria at Villages of Windsor, a $105 million independent living, assisted living and memory care community situated on a 22.5-acre site in the Palm Beach County city of Lake Worth. The community’s 186 units of independent living are scheduled to open this summer, followed by 80 assisted living units and 54 memory care units in the fall. Atria Senior Living will operate the community once completed. Gensler designed the property, while Moss & Associates served as construction manager. Walker & Dunlop arranged a $68.2 million construction loan for the project last year.
While Florida as a whole was able to bounce back from the Great Recession relatively quickly, one market that had been lagging behind in that recovery was Jacksonville. However, a surge of new development and strong population growth has kicked Jacksonville’s retail market back into high gear. Occupancy rates have gone up year-over-year to 91.1 percent and the retail sector currently has 748,000 square feet of new space under construction, according to JLL’s 2016 Florida Retail Report. While this infusion of new space may have a small squeeze on asking rates — currently at $13.24 per square foot — the outlook for Jacksonville’s retail market remains strong. The St. John’s Town Center has had a transformative effect on the Northeast Florida market over the past decade. The shopping center saw huge success when it first opened its doors in 2005 and was relatively immune to the effects of the downturn. As the economy started to trend upward, the St. Johns area saw even greater shopper traffic and with that came expansion; in fact most of the 748,000 square feet of retail space currently under construction is in the St. Johns area. As St. John’s continues to fuel Jacksonville’s retail market, …
COCONUT GROVE, FLA. — Hersha Hospitality Trust has purchased the 115-room Ritz-Carlton Coconut Grove for $36 million. The hospitality REIT funded the acquisition with proceeds from the recent sale of the Residence Inn in Greenbelt, Md. Situated on 3.4 acres about a half-block from the waterfront, the Ritz-Carlton is part of a two-tower, 22-story residential-hotel condominium complex that opened in 2002. The property features 14,000 square feet of meeting space, a restaurant bar, spa, fitness center, retail space, pool, exterior courtyards and approximately 8,000 square feet of leasable office space. The identity of the seller was undisclosed.