ST. LUCIE, FLA. — St. Lucie Public Schools has selected Spiezle Architectural Group Inc. to provide design services for the school district’s 217,500-square-foot Western Grove K-8 prototype campus. General contractor Wharton-Smith plans to begin construction on the project in February and wrap up by August 2026. The six-building campus will include two-story academic buildings, a two-story administration building, gymnasium, chiller plant with thermal storage and a 33,569-square-foot auditorium/cafeteria that will feature dining facilities, a kitchen, custodial area, stage, band classroom, vocal classroom and an art classroom. Outdoor offerings will include playgrounds, multipurpose field, hard court and dropoff/pickup area. The Western Grove K-8 prototype campus is designed to accommodate nearly 2,000 students.
Florida
NAI Miami | Fort Lauderdale Brokers $2.3M Sale of Office Building in Miami’s Pinecrest Village
by John Nelson
MIAMI — NAI Miami | Fort Lauderdale has brokered the $2.3 million sale of a two-story, 9,192-square-foot office building located at 9703 S. Dixie Highway in the Miami village of Pincecrest. Jeremy Larkin, Joseph Gallaher and Valentina Tawil of NAI Miami | Fort Lauderdale represented the seller, an entity doing business as 9703 Dixie LLC, in the transaction. Robert Eckstein, also with NAI Miami | Fort Lauderdale, represented the undisclosed buyer, which plans to invest in capital improvements to bring the office building to market-ready conditions. According to LoopNet Inc., the property is known as The Pile Building and was originally completed in 1959.
Mast Capital, Amzak Obtain $72.5M Loan for Renovation of Saddlebrook Resort in Metro Tampa
by John Nelson
WESLEY CHAPEL, FLA. — A partnership between Mast Capital and Amzak Capital Management has secured a $72.5 million loan for the renovation of Saddlebrook Resort, a 480-acre hospitality property located in the Tampa suburb of Wesley Chapel. Beachpoint Capital Management provided the loan. Chris Drew, Brian Gaswirth, Jeff Bucaro, Paul Adams, Mark Deslauriers and Nicole Barba of JLL arranged the loan on behalf of the borrowers. The renovation of Saddlebrook Resort is expected to total $92 million and encompass a full-scale redesign of the guestroom suites, lobby, meeting spaces, pool and outdoor facilities, golf course and food-and-beverage destinations, as well as significant upgrades to the resort’s landscaping, sports facilities and lifestyle amenities. Mast Capital first partnered with Amzak Capital to acquire the resort in spring 2022.
Colliers Brokers Sale of 125,538 SF Casselberry Exchange Shopping Center in Metro Orlando
by John Nelson
CASSELBERRY, FLA. — Colliers has brokered the sale of Casselberry Exchange, a 125,538-square-foot shopping center located at 5803 US Highway 17-92 in Casselberry, approximately 12 miles north of Orlando. Funds managed by affiliates of Apollo sold the value-add property to RD Management for an undisclosed price. Brad Peterson and Whitaker Leonhardt of Colliers represented the seller in the transaction. Situated adjacent to Sole at Casselberry apartments, the shopping center features multiple single-tenant and strip retail buildings leased to retailers including Starbucks Coffee, Einstein Bagel Bros, Fresenius Kidney Care, Amscot and Little Caesars. Casselberry Exchange also features three vacant big box anchor stores totaling nearly 83,500 square feet and a former 7-Eleven gas station outparcel.
MIAMI — Kushner Cos. has acquired The Hamilton, a 276-unit apartment community located in the Edgewater neighborhood of Miami. Apartment Investment and Management Co. (Aimco) sold the multifamily property for $190 million. Located at 555 N.E. 34th St. along Biscayne Bay, the community is situated with proximity to downtown Miami and the city’s Brickell financial district. Originally developed in 1984, The Hamilton features one-, two-, three-, four- and five-bedroom units averaging 1,373 square feet in size. Each apartment also features a terrace — the terraces average 326 square feet, with some larger than 2,300 square feet. Aimco purchased The Hamilton in 2020 and executed a complete renovation of the property, which was completed in 2022. Still Hunter, Kaya Suarez, Leigh Gerke, Bennett Hopkins and Luke Duffack of Walker & Dunlop arranged the transaction on behalf of Aimco. Additionally, Aaron Appel, Keith Kurland, Jonathan Schwartz, Adam Schwartz, Michael Stepniewski, Mo Beler, Michael Ianno and Christopher de Raet of Walker & Dunlop arranged a $157 million acquisition financing package on behalf of Kushner Cos. Apollo Global Management and Macquarie Group provided the financing. According to a press release issued by Walker & Dunlop, The Hamilton marks one of only two institutional-quality, direct …
DORAL, FLA. — Birmingham-based general contractor Robins & Morton has delivered a new 160,000-square-foot medical center in Doral, a western suburb of Miami, on behalf of University of Miami health system UHealth. The six-story UHealth Doral property opened in late November. Designed by Arcadis, the healthcare property features 33 exam rooms, eight operating rooms, three endoscopy suites, 33 cancer treatment units, radiology services, a lab, onsite pharmacy, seven-story parking garage and a central energy plant. Specialists operating within UHealth Doral include UHealth’s neurology program, the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, Bascom Palmer Eye Institute and Desai Sethi Urology Institute.
DUNEDIN, FLA. — CTO Realty Growth Inc. has purchased Granada Plaza, a 74,000-square-foot shopping center located on a seven-acre site in the Tampa suburb of Dunedin. Publix anchors the property, which was 95 percent leased at the time of sale. Winter Park, Fla.-based CTO Realty Growth purchased the asset from the undisclosed seller for $16.8 million. According to LoopNet Inc., Granada Plaza was built in 1983.
Cushman & Wakefield Arranges Sale of 200 North College Mixed-Use Campus in Uptown Charlotte
by John Nelson
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Cushman & Wakefield has arranged the sale of 200 North College, a five-story mixed-use campus located on a 3.5-acre site in Uptown Charlotte. According to The Charlotte Ledger, the property sold for $32.7 million. Rob Cochran and Bill Harrison of Cushman & Wakefield’s Charlotte office, along with Steve Lindley in the firm’s Phoenix office, represented the seller, an entity doing business as Terra Funding – Wake Forest LLC, through the court-appointed receiver, locally based Childress Klein. An investor doing business as A H Real Estate Holdings was the buyer. The 455,000-square-foot property features a five-story office building anchored by Wake Forest University’s business school. The development also includes an 810-space parking deck and a DoubleTree by Hilton hotel with 294 rooms. The buyer plans to redevelop a portion of 200 North College to include multifamily units and ground-level retail space.
Landmark Properties, Stockbridge Recapitalize Student Housing Community Near University of Central Florida
by John Nelson
ORLANDO, FLA. — Landmark Properties has partnered with Stockbridge to recapitalize The Retreat East, a 602-bed student housing development located near the University of Central Florida campus in Orlando. Landmark delivered the cottage-style property in 2021 at 1705 France Drive. The community offers four-, five- and six-bedroom, fully furnished units with bed-to-bath parity. Shared amenities include a two-story fitness center, 24-hour computer lab, group and private study lounges, a resort-style swimming pool and hot tub, grilling area, hammock and cabana grove, an outdoor gaming lawn and a clubhouse. This marks Landmark Properties’ second transaction with Stockbridge following the acquisition of The Retreat Tampa in late November.
Terra Obtains $170M Construction Loan for First Phase of $1B Upland Park Mixed-Use Project in South Florida
by John Nelson
SWEETWATER, FLA. — Terra, a Miami-based developer, has obtained a $170 million construction loan to fund the development of Upland Park, a planned $1 billion mixed-use development in the west Miami suburb of Sweetwater. Terra is transforming Miami-Dade County’s Dolphin Park-and-Ride/Transit Terminal Facility into a multimodal hub that will feature a transit station, residences, retail space and commercial uses on a 47-acre site near Dolphin Mall. The local developer is teaming up with Miami-Dade County on Upland Park in a public-private partnership. SCALE Lending, Slate Property Group’s debt financing arm, was the lead lender on the construction loan. Terra will use the loan proceeds to fund Phase I of Upland Park, which will comprise 578 apartments. The first phase is slated to break ground in early 2025. Designed by PPK Architects, in collaboration with master plan architect Arquitectonica and urban planner Plusurbia Design, Upland Park will include more than 2,000 new mid-rise and garden-style apartments, about 282,000 square feet of shops and restaurants and approximately 414,000 square feet of commercial space. Upland Park is designed to increase public transit ridership while anchoring the new East-West Corridor of Miami-Dade County’s SMART public transportation plan. Potential transit riders will have direct access …