"It was $4-something per sf. It was unbelievable," Tom Prakas, president/broker of The Prakas Group Inc. and the broker involved in the sale, tells GlobeSt.com. "It's probably one of the best deals made in Florida in the last five years."
The seller, the Palm Beach County Board of Health, had had the 110,000-sf hospital on the market for two years. "They were asking a much higher price, and then came down," Prakas says. The low price was agreed to by the county under certain conditions, including finding a buyer that can close very quickly, he says. "They just divested."
MDN Properties plans to redevelop the hospital into a private drug rehabilitation and therapy center. Since MDN is an investment company, it is doing this by leasing out all the space to private tenants. No leases had been finalized as of March 25, but deals were "very close," according to Prakas.
MDN Properties is in lease negotiations for 30,000 to 40,000 sf of the hospital, says Prakas, who adds that he expects the hospital to be operational as a drug rehab center in the next three to six months.
"It was the best use for the property," Prakas says. "It's a great property. It's got its privacy, and it sits nice. It makes a great treatment center." The hospital is situated on almost 14 acres of land in Pahokee, FL.
Patients have been moved from the former acute-care county hospital over the last two years, Prakas says. The new owners have not yet re-named the facilityl, which is simply known as the old Pahokee Memorial Hospital.
Prakas was the exclusive broker, representing both MDN Properties and the Palm Beach County Board of Health in the transaction.
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