Laidlaw Properties Inc. purchased the 268,756-sf asset for $21.5 million. That figure includes the assumption of $15.5 million in mortgage debt on the property and $6 million in stock. The seller is a privately held investment firm.

"This transaction is a first step towards allowing Laidlaw to have a sufficient equity base, which will now permit it to enter into additional transactions in the property development and vacation-ownership business," says Laidlaw CEO Julian Edwards.

Laidlaw last had the company appraised in 1999, at which point it was valued at nearly $22.6 million. North Miami Beach firm Valtek Consultants Inc., which conducted the appraisal, is updating its findings and expects to complete its work by March 30. The company expects the value has increased over the last four years, due to the opening of a new tunnel and roadway system linking Anchorage to Whittier. The transportation improvements are expected to attract more than a half million additional visitors per year to the area, Laidlaw officials say.