FORT MYERS, FLA. — Fort Myers-based GT 40 has sold a 15,200-square-foot office building to Bonita Springs, Fla.-based 4571 Building LLC for $3.1 million. The buyer will reposition the property, located at 4571 Colonial Blvd. in Fort Myers, for medical use. Karen Johnson-Crowther of Colliers Arnold and Land Solutions' Randy Thibaut and Janie Hooker brokered the sale.
Southeast
To take measure of the recession’s effect on office transactions in the Washington market, simply watch the city’s tenant base. In a town where the market-wide vacancy rate is 10.8 percent, lessees are being very careful about any real estate moves they make. Tenants who are active are obtaining short-term deals, hoping a brighter day is in the immediate future. “Getting decisions made takes considerably more time than in years past,” says Wendy Feldman Block of Studley’s Washington office. “Although some people feel that tenants are showing less hesitancy recently than they were 6 months ago, it’s very painful getting decisions made.” Hesitancy among landlords also is contributing to the city’s transactional slump. These owners are in financial trouble, but tenants are requiring massive tenant improvement packages and free rent before leases are signed. This culture leaves landlords in a bind; they want to get space leased up, but they also have to make money. If tenants were more prevalent, finding other interested parties wouldn’t be a problem, but the tenant pool has become smaller and smaller. “There are too few tenants for too much space — particularly for those who have requirements that are under 50,000 square feet,” she …
MIAMI — First Bank of Puerto Rico has sold the 30,000-square-foot GS2 office building to Larkin Hospital for $3.6 million. The property is located at 5996 S.W. 70th St. in Miami. The buyer will use the building for hospital staff. Drew Kristol and Kirk Olson of Marcus & Millichap's Miami office represented the seller. Greg Zeifman and Ben Silver, also of the firm's Miami office, represented the buyer.
ORLANDO, FLA. — Duke Realty Corp. has offered lease renewals totaling 204,352 square feet in the Parksouth Distribution Center to five tenants. The eight-building, 990,091-square-foot property is located near Orange Blossom Trail in Orlando. Fresenius Manufacturing has renewed its 63,638-square-foot lease, and Armstrong Relocation Co. renewed its 58,138-square-foot lease. Additionally, SimCom International renewed for 38,762 square feet, Bright House Networks renewed for 32,375 square feet, and BBJ Party Linens renewed for 11,439 square feet. Tim Perry served as in-house representation for the landlord.
TENNESSEE AND ARKANSAS — Ashley Furniture Homestore has leased more than 75,000 square feet for two new stores in Tennessee and Arkansas. The tenant leased 51,000 square feet from Valley Investors at its 445,000-square-foot Centennial Crossing center in Memphis, Tenn. Ashley Furniture will move into a space vacated by Sportsman's Warehouse. The Shopping Center Group's Danny Buring represented the landlord. Ashley also leased 25,000 square feet from Stonemar Properties in the Bernard Court Shopping Center in Jonesboro, Ark. Buring and The Shopping Center Group's Robert Sloan represented Stonemar Properties. Leah Fyfe Stokes of CB Richard Ellis' Memphis office represented Ashley Furniture Homestore in the deals.
The Atlanta multifamily market has experienced a 200-point jump in its vacancy rate when compared to the fourth quarter of last year. The market-wide total rate is sitting at 12. 5 percent, and the rate for Class B and Class C properties is a few percentage points higher. These numbers are, of course, a function of the recession and the overall lack of job stability in the city. When the jobs return, says Andrew Mays of Marcus & Millichap’s Atlanta office, the vacancy rate will start to recede. “Unemployment is the main deterrent to multifamily growth,” he says. “It’s such a function of the job market right now, and until we work our way through this, it’s going to take a little while to get that number back in check. Ideally, Atlanta performs much better around the high single digits.” Increased transactions from high net-worth buyers from South Florida, the Northeast and Chicago, along with the occasional foreign spender, has helped prevent a complete shutdown of the market. Mays says the number of transactions, and interest from international investors, will increase once lenders release more distressed assets onto the market. “Moving forward, It’s not going to be ‘06 or ‘07 …
ATLANTA — Turner Construction Co. is set to break ground on the $63 million G. Wayne Clough Undergraduate Learning Commons in Atlanta. The 220,000-square-foot building will be located on the campus of the Georgia Institute of Technology. The building will include classrooms, science laboratories, lecture halls and computer rooms. Completion is slated for May 2011.
MORGANTOWN, W. VA. — Super 8 Motel Developers has sold a 58-room Super 8 Motel in Morgantown to Anami Hotels for an undisclosed amount. The buyers will undertake cosmetic renovations to the property. David Mumford, Ed James and Justin Pinkard of Mumford Co.'s Newport News, Va., office represented the seller.
NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. — 7401 Northwoods Boulevard Holdings has sold the 197-room Ramada North Charleston to Homecourt Hospitality for an undisclosed amount. The property features a fitness room, indoor and outdoor pools, and 6,000 square feet of meeting space. Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels brokered the sale.
MURFREESBORO, TENN. — North American Development Group and Dunedin, Fla.-based The Barclay Group are hard at work on the 62,356-square-foot Market at Salem Cove. The $10 million Publix-anchored shopping center is located at the intersection of Highway 99 and St. Andrews Drive in Murfreesboro. Publix is scheduled to open in November.