NEW ORLEANS – In an off-market transaction an unnamed Connecticut investor has paid $55 million for the land and building on which Home Depot sits. Industry executives are saying this is the largest single-tenant Home Depot sale ever.

“This was a perfect storm between a Buyer that needed to spend a lot of money quickly with a Seller that wanted aggressive pricing for his Home Depot,” Collier's Eric Carlton tells GlobeSt.com.

The buyer originally came in as the runner-up bidder bid for a WalMart site. But that second place spot, put the company in Collier's sites. The buyer's approaching 1031 exchange deadline made them ideal for this transaction.

“If the buyer hadn't placed a bid to purchase the Walmart site last month, we would not have known about their deadlines or their need to fill their pending 1031 exchange portfolio,” Carlton says. “Despite a very tight deadline, the timing was right, the credit strength of the tenant was obvious, and size of the deal filled a large portion of the exchange portfolio, all of which created a perfect scenario for both the buyer and seller.”

The seller, Kids Kake LLC, received four other offers, ranging from large REITs to high-net worth private buyers.

Despite the high price point, Carlton says what really makes this deal stand out is the 6.35% cap rate. “This is Pricing seen for smaller Home Depot transactions; way beyond expectations for a $55 million deal.”

The investment group will gain an 11-acre site as well as the 142,727-square-foot store, which opened in January of 2013. Home Depot has 10 five-year lease renewal options.

“A brand new Home Depot like this, coupled with the investor interest we were able to generate as evidenced by the multiple offers we received, all point to a more positive economic outlook in a state that has really suffered more than its share economically,” Carlton says.

The site sale bodes well for the returning economy of New Orleans, a city whose retail sector took a serious hit after hurricane Katrina.

“To say this is the highest price ever paid for a Home Depot site would be significant anywhere, but its significance grows when you realize that it took place not where you'd likely expect it to take place – not in California, not in New York, not in Florida where land prices are the highest and the populations are the densest -- but in Louisiana and just outside the City of New Orleans,” Carlton says.