MIAMI—A team of real estate debt and equity specialists led by executive managing director Robert Kaplan has joined Cushman & Wakefield's Equity, Debt & Structured Finance group from Ackman-Ziff. The group provides a financial services platform to both domestic and international for all asset classes. Kaplan began his career in real estate law before transitioning to in-house investment sales and financing for two prominent private South Florida investors. He entered the national brokerage industry in 1998, joining HFF to lead the financing group in its Miami office. Most recently he served as the head of the Florida office of New York-based Ackman-Ziff. Senior director Chris Lentz and analyst Mark Rutherford, with over 30 years of combined experience in corporate and commercial real estate financing and sales, are also joining the firm.

TAMPA, FL— Gary M. Ralston was elected to serve as a member of the CCIM board of directors. Ralston is a managing partner of Coldwell Banker Commercial Saunders Ralston Dantzler Realty. He holds the Certified Commercial Investment Member (CCIM), Society of Industrial and Office Realtors (SIOR), Specialist in Real Estate Securities (SRS), Certified Property Manager (CPM), Counselor of Real Estate (CRE), Certified Leasing Specialist (CLS), Certified Development, Design and Construction Professional (CDP), Certified Retail Property Executive (CRX) and Fellow of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (FRICS) professional designations. He is also a Florida licensed real estate broker and certified building contractor.

DEAL TRACKER

TEQUESTA, FL—Capital One provided a $14.1 million HUD loan modification to Tequesta Terrace, a 100-bed assisted living facility in Tequesta, FL. Carolyn Whatley, senior vice president of originations, originated the loan for Terrace Communities. “Due to a timing differential, this property closed with a slightly higher interest rate than the other properties,” she says. “We monitored the rate environment and took advantage of HUD's loan modification feature, which allows an interest rate reduction.” The non-recourse, fixed-rate loan has 32-plus years remaining on the original 35-year fully amortizing term.

MIAMI—New Boston Fund is reporting near full occupancy at One Park Square, a 281,623 square-foot class A office building in Doral, Florida, after securing leases with eight tenants for a combined 31,963 square feet. Dr. Wayne Case Family Medical, home furniture company Vivere Furniture & Design, Hollywood Dermatology, health and development company Unicity, Life Radiology, Great Play and adult personal fitness provider Legacy Fit, which will occupy retail space on the building's ground floor, are among the newest tenants. Tere Blanca, Danet Linares and Andres Del Corral of Blanca Commercial Real Estate represented the owner.

WINTER HAVEN, FL—Coldwell Banker Commercial Saunders Real Estate sales associates represented the buyer in a recent $4.847 million sale of single-family lots in Winter Haven, FL. The 131 lots were in the Saint James Crossing development at 4654 Fox Trail, Winter Haven. The average purchase price for each lot was $37,000. The lots ranged in size from 6,819 to 10,227 SF. CBC represented the buyer, Starlight Homes Florida. Ben Crosby with Crosby & Associates represented the seller, Lake's Edge Investments.

BROOKESVILLE, FL—HFF closed the $4.77 million sale of Sunrise Plaza, an 86,815-square-foot neighborhood shopping center anchored by Winn-Dixie in the Tampa suburb of Brooksville. HFF represented the seller Noble Properties. ProVest Properties purchased the asset free and clear of existing debt. The one-building Sunrise Plaza is home to anchor Winn-Dixie in addition to national and regional tenants, including Winn Dixie Liquor and Beef'O'Brady's. HFF senior managing director Brad Peterson and associate director Whitaker Leonhardt brokered the deal.

“Sunrise Plaza presented a unique opportunity to create additional value in a successful Winn-Dixie-anchored shopping center,” says Leonhardt. “Brooksville and the surrounding areas continue to experience population growth and retail space absorption, primarily driven by its proximity to Tampa and very favorable cost of living.”

SARASOTA, FL—Custom Air & Plumbing leased a 34,234-square-foot industrial property in the Pinkney Industrial Park, located at 5330 Pinkney Avenue in Sarasota. The 184,640-square-foot industrial park, located on 14.6 acres, is now fully leased. Custom Air & Plumbing is subleasing the property from HD Supply. Nick DeVito and Joanna Ginder-Ashley of Ian Black Real Estate handled the transaction. Chris Gadriux of CBRE co-listed the property. “There are very few properties on the market in this size category with this much parking,” says DeVito, partner at Ian Black Real Estate. “In addition, the property is conveniently located in the heart of Sarasota County.

POMPANO BEACH, FL—Cushman & Wakefield negotiated the sale of a six-building office and flex portfolio in Broward County's Park Central Business Park. Executive director Scott O'Donnell, senior associate Greg Miller and senior director Dominic Montazemi, in conjunction with industrial leasing specialists executive director Richard F. Etner Jr. and executive director Christopher Metzger, represented Duke PCB 1–7 in the disposition. A private investor acquired the 184,387-square-foot portfolio. The six buildings comprising the portfolio are located at 2200, 2100, 3800–3890, 3700–3770, 3610–3665 and 3410 Park Central Boulevard North.

WEST PALM BEACH, FL—Since June of this year, NAI/Merin Hunter Codman has represented buyers and sellers in approximately $250 million of commercial real estate sales. The investment properties included office, retail and multifamily properties and ranged in size from just under $1 million to over $70 million.

BUILDING BLOCKS

TAMARAC, FL—13th Floor Homes has kicked off sales of its Meadow Collection at Manor Parc, a 239-single-family home community in Tamarac. Prices start in the low $300,000s. Meadow Collection at Manor Parc will offer six models, with floorplans of up to five bedrooms, as well as one- and two-story options. Centrally located at Florida's Turnpike and Commercial Boulevard, Manor Parc is directly adjacent to Central Parc, 13th Floor Homes' neighboring residential community, which launched pre-construction in June 2014 and sold out earlier this year. “There is a deep misconception that young professionals would prefer to rent rather than buy, but the dream of homeownership is alive and well among this demographic,” says Mike Nunziata, president of 13th Floor Homes Division. “Unfortunately, a lack of inventory is what has kept many on the sidelines. Our goal is to fill this void and deliver high quality new construction at a price point they can actually afford.”

ORLANDO—Equinox Development Properties of Maitland will bring the convenience of Wawa and a 24-hour fitness location to MetroWest. Wawa and the retail space will be built at the busy intersection of Kirkman Road and Raleigh Street. This project is worth about $18 million.

Equinox is purchasing approximately 9.5 acres at Kirkman and Raleigh to build the retail development. It will also include a 38,000 square foot, two story 24-hour fitness location; one quick service restaurant; and 11,000 square feet of additional retail space. Construction is expected to begin during the first quarter of 2017.

Florida is still performing strong, with plenty of new residential and retail projects rising from the ground, new leasing assignments being handed out, and healthy deal flow. Occupancy levels are enviable at many projects, with more reporting full or near-full status this week.

BY THE NUMBERS

Occupancy of all existing Palm Beach County retail centers is 89.1%. After removing the 20 centers that are in redevelopment, occupancy jumps to 91.5%. Thirty-one big boxes and 19 junior boxes are available in the market. Publix-anchored centers (75 in this market), as a group, are 91.8% occupied. After removing the four Publix centers that are in redevelopment, occupancy jumps to 94.5%. Twenty centers are undergoing redevelopment and comprise 2.9 million square feet. Only three centers are under construction and, when finished, will add 190,000 sf to the retail inventory. (Source: Avison Young)

NEWS & NOTABLES

MIAMI—A team of real estate debt and equity specialists led by executive managing director Robert Kaplan has joined Cushman & Wakefield's Equity, Debt & Structured Finance group from Ackman-Ziff. The group provides a financial services platform to both domestic and international for all asset classes. Kaplan began his career in real estate law before transitioning to in-house investment sales and financing for two prominent private South Florida investors. He entered the national brokerage industry in 1998, joining HFF to lead the financing group in its Miami office. Most recently he served as the head of the Florida office of New York-based Ackman-Ziff. Senior director Chris Lentz and analyst Mark Rutherford, with over 30 years of combined experience in corporate and commercial real estate financing and sales, are also joining the firm.

TAMPA, FL— Gary M. Ralston was elected to serve as a member of the CCIM board of directors. Ralston is a managing partner of Coldwell Banker Commercial Saunders Ralston Dantzler Realty. He holds the Certified Commercial Investment Member (CCIM), Society of Industrial and Office Realtors (SIOR), Specialist in Real Estate Securities (SRS), Certified Property Manager (CPM), Counselor of Real Estate (CRE), Certified Leasing Specialist (CLS), Certified Development, Design and Construction Professional (CDP), Certified Retail Property Executive (CRX) and Fellow of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (FRICS) professional designations. He is also a Florida licensed real estate broker and certified building contractor.

DEAL TRACKER

TEQUESTA, FL—Capital One provided a $14.1 million HUD loan modification to Tequesta Terrace, a 100-bed assisted living facility in Tequesta, FL. Carolyn Whatley, senior vice president of originations, originated the loan for Terrace Communities. “Due to a timing differential, this property closed with a slightly higher interest rate than the other properties,” she says. “We monitored the rate environment and took advantage of HUD's loan modification feature, which allows an interest rate reduction.” The non-recourse, fixed-rate loan has 32-plus years remaining on the original 35-year fully amortizing term.

MIAMI—New Boston Fund is reporting near full occupancy at One Park Square, a 281,623 square-foot class A office building in Doral, Florida, after securing leases with eight tenants for a combined 31,963 square feet. Dr. Wayne Case Family Medical, home furniture company Vivere Furniture & Design, Hollywood Dermatology, health and development company Unicity, Life Radiology, Great Play and adult personal fitness provider Legacy Fit, which will occupy retail space on the building's ground floor, are among the newest tenants. Tere Blanca, Danet Linares and Andres Del Corral of Blanca Commercial Real Estate represented the owner.

WINTER HAVEN, FL—Coldwell Banker Commercial Saunders Real Estate sales associates represented the buyer in a recent $4.847 million sale of single-family lots in Winter Haven, FL. The 131 lots were in the Saint James Crossing development at 4654 Fox Trail, Winter Haven. The average purchase price for each lot was $37,000. The lots ranged in size from 6,819 to 10,227 SF. CBC represented the buyer, Starlight Homes Florida. Ben Crosby with Crosby & Associates represented the seller, Lake's Edge Investments.

BROOKESVILLE, FL—HFF closed the $4.77 million sale of Sunrise Plaza, an 86,815-square-foot neighborhood shopping center anchored by Winn-Dixie in the Tampa suburb of Brooksville. HFF represented the seller Noble Properties. ProVest Properties purchased the asset free and clear of existing debt. The one-building Sunrise Plaza is home to anchor Winn-Dixie in addition to national and regional tenants, including Winn Dixie Liquor and Beef'O'Brady's. HFF senior managing director Brad Peterson and associate director Whitaker Leonhardt brokered the deal.

“Sunrise Plaza presented a unique opportunity to create additional value in a successful Winn-Dixie-anchored shopping center,” says Leonhardt. “Brooksville and the surrounding areas continue to experience population growth and retail space absorption, primarily driven by its proximity to Tampa and very favorable cost of living.”

SARASOTA, FL—Custom Air & Plumbing leased a 34,234-square-foot industrial property in the Pinkney Industrial Park, located at 5330 Pinkney Avenue in Sarasota. The 184,640-square-foot industrial park, located on 14.6 acres, is now fully leased. Custom Air & Plumbing is subleasing the property from HD Supply. Nick DeVito and Joanna Ginder-Ashley of Ian Black Real Estate handled the transaction. Chris Gadriux of CBRE co-listed the property. “There are very few properties on the market in this size category with this much parking,” says DeVito, partner at Ian Black Real Estate. “In addition, the property is conveniently located in the heart of Sarasota County.

POMPANO BEACH, FL—Cushman & Wakefield negotiated the sale of a six-building office and flex portfolio in Broward County's Park Central Business Park. Executive director Scott O'Donnell, senior associate Greg Miller and senior director Dominic Montazemi, in conjunction with industrial leasing specialists executive director Richard F. Etner Jr. and executive director Christopher Metzger, represented Duke PCB 1–7 in the disposition. A private investor acquired the 184,387-square-foot portfolio. The six buildings comprising the portfolio are located at 2200, 2100, 3800–3890, 3700–3770, 3610–3665 and 3410 Park Central Boulevard North.

WEST PALM BEACH, FL—Since June of this year, NAI/Merin Hunter Codman has represented buyers and sellers in approximately $250 million of commercial real estate sales. The investment properties included office, retail and multifamily properties and ranged in size from just under $1 million to over $70 million.

BUILDING BLOCKS

TAMARAC, FL—13th Floor Homes has kicked off sales of its Meadow Collection at Manor Parc, a 239-single-family home community in Tamarac. Prices start in the low $300,000s. Meadow Collection at Manor Parc will offer six models, with floorplans of up to five bedrooms, as well as one- and two-story options. Centrally located at Florida's Turnpike and Commercial Boulevard, Manor Parc is directly adjacent to Central Parc, 13th Floor Homes' neighboring residential community, which launched pre-construction in June 2014 and sold out earlier this year. “There is a deep misconception that young professionals would prefer to rent rather than buy, but the dream of homeownership is alive and well among this demographic,” says Mike Nunziata, president of 13th Floor Homes Division. “Unfortunately, a lack of inventory is what has kept many on the sidelines. Our goal is to fill this void and deliver high quality new construction at a price point they can actually afford.”

ORLANDO—Equinox Development Properties of Maitland will bring the convenience of Wawa and a 24-hour fitness location to MetroWest. Wawa and the retail space will be built at the busy intersection of Kirkman Road and Raleigh Street. This project is worth about $18 million.

Equinox is purchasing approximately 9.5 acres at Kirkman and Raleigh to build the retail development. It will also include a 38,000 square foot, two story 24-hour fitness location; one quick service restaurant; and 11,000 square feet of additional retail space. Construction is expected to begin during the first quarter of 2017.