ORLANDO-Community Reinvestment Partners, a joint venture investment fund of DeBartolo Development and Forge Capital Partners, has acquired Mills Park, a 14.5-acre site of a city-approved mixed-use development. The companies will develop the property at the intersection of Mills Avenue and Virginia Drive to include retail, multifamily and office. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

“We heard about this site a couple of years ago,” says Edward Kobel, president and COO of DeBartolo Development. “It is a great piece of real estate, but the deal had some distress. The loan was available for purchase from the bank. We worked out a deal with Pelloni Development and will take the plan they had to the next level.”

Pelloni Development Corporation, the original developer of the project, will remain involved in the master development and will develop the medical and professional office component. In addition to retail, multifamily and office, the development will offer a park, bike path and parking garage. The development will be within walking distance of major cultural centers, including The Orlando Museum of Art, The Orlando Science Center, The Mennello Museum of Folk Art and the Central Florida Civic Theater.

“There’s a lot of land for sale all over the country, let alone all over Florida,” Kobel says. “We are pretty particular and very discerning about where we make the decision to invest. This site has been near the top of our list now for several months.”

Centrally located midway between Downtown Orlando and Winter Park, Mills Park is only minutes from Florida Hospital’s main campus, which serves 1.5 million patients annually and is home to 1,000 physicians. The hospital recently completed a $255 million, 15-story addition for cardiovascular care and an emergency department the size of a football field.

“This is the perfect opportunity to move forward with the vision of Mills Park and contribute to the region’s economic recovery,” says Robert Moreyra, managing principal of Forge Capital Partners and president of Community Reinvestment Partners. “Our goal for this project is to benefit the community and economy of Central Florida by creating more jobs, bringing new businesses, shops and residents to this diverse area.”