ORLANDO-It all started when I talked to Carey Stiss, an attorney at Bilzin Sumberg in Miami. During our conversation, he spoke of a multifamily renaissance.
Just days later, I started to see land sales. Actually, I reported on back to back land sales in Orlando. The sites are earmarked for none other than multifamily development.
Pollack Partners purchased a 4.36-acre land parcel in downtown Orlando for $3.7 million. The price for the bank-owned property totaled about $850,000 per acre. That’s a far cry from the hey day prices. But that’s probably what makes it a feasible buy in Uptown Orlando.
A few days later, DeBartolo Development and Forge Capital Partners, announced their acquisition of Mills Park, a 14.5-acre site of a city-approved mixed-use development. A key component of that mixed-use plan is—you guessed it—multifamily.
I’ve also talked to hotel developers like Bernard Wolfson, president of Hospitality Operations, that's developing hotels in Miami. A new Hampton Inn is under construction as you read this. And others that are poised to break ground in the Southeast. The only major hold out is office space. With a glut of office space in most markets in the Southeast—and in the country for that matter—it’s likely that we won’t see new office development in the near-term.
Still, the fact that buildings will soon rise from the dirt again speaks to the resiliency of commercial real estate. What shall we say then? Is the next cycle of development beginning? Or are the Orlando deals a flash in the pan? The answer to both questions is probably no. But it’s still good to see new construction in pockets of the market.
Want to continue reading?
Become a Free ALM Digital Reader.
Once you are an ALM Digital Member, you’ll receive:
- Breaking commercial real estate news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
- Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
- Critical coverage of the property casualty insurance and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, PropertyCasualty360 and ThinkAdvisor
Already have an account? Sign In Now
*May exclude premium content© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
