NEWS & NOTABLES

TAMPA, FL—Feldman Equities hired industry veteran Christopher Ross as a senior analyst to help lead the expansion of its commercial real estate portfolio. He will prospect all new acquisitions and lead due diligence and perform financial analysis for development projects, including the company's upcoming mixed-use Riverwalk development. Prior to joining Feldman, he spent 10 years with MetLife's Real Estate Investments office. Most recently he served as director of acquisitions for Cantor Fund Management.

WEST PALM BEACH, FL—Anthony Librizzi has joined Cushman & Wakefield as a managing director of commercial brokerage in the company's West Palm Beach office. Librizzi will assume a leading role with an office leasing group. He comes to CushWake after nine years at CBRE, where he served as senior vice president assisting both office landlords and tenants in West Palm Beach, North Palm Beach and along the Treasure Coast. His prior brokerage experience includes two years at Applefield Waxman Commercial Real Estate.

DEAL TRACKER

FORT LAUDERDALE, FL—Cushman & Wakefield negotiated the sale of Courthouse Place, a 66,260-square-foot, class A office building in the Fort Lauderdale central business district (CBD). Executive director Scott O'Donnell, managing director Dominic Montazemi and senior associate Greg Miller, with assistance from the Cushman & Wakefield office leasing team of executive director Deanna Lobinsky and executive director Travis Herring, represented Courthouse Place Building Owner, LLC, an affiliate of West Palm Beach, FL-based Morning Calm Management, LLC, in the disposition. HRE/SEFIRA Courthouse Place, LLC acquired the asset for $13.7 million, or $207 per square feet.

TAMPA, FL—Avison Young has been retained to sell a 30.9-acre mixed-use redevelopment opportunity with over one half mile of waterfront and unobstructed views of Tampa Bay from Rattlesnake Point. Located at 5411 Tyson Avenue on the western-most portion of the Rattlesnake Point peninsula, the portfolio includes two land parcels and 137,705 square feet of industrial assets. Proposals for infrastructure and transportation improvements include a $3.3 billion plan to add express lanes on Interstates 4, 75, and 275, and a rebuild of the interstate bridge that connect Hillsborough and Pinellas Counties.

TAMPA, FL—Marcus & Millichap brokered the sale of Manhattan Luxury Apartments, a 24-unit apartment property located in Tampa. The multifamily asset sold for $2.825 million. Francesco P. Carriera, Michael P. Regan, Joshua Teplitzky and Cameron Barbas, investment specialists in Marcus & Millichap's Tampa office, represented the seller, a private investor as well as securing and representing the buyer, also a private investor.

TITUSVILLE, FL—Tiktin Real Estate Investment Services (TREIS) has been named the exclusive sales agent for Searstown Mall, a 285,380 square-foot retail plaza at 3550 South Washington Avenue in Titusville. Anchor tenants include Bealls Outlet, Sears and Satellite Cinemas. Adam J. Tiktin, president, and Cliff Weisner, senior associate, are heading the assignment on behalf of the ownership, and have listed the site for just over $8 million. Located within the centerpiece of Florida's Space Coast, Searstown Mall sits on 21.5 acres and is positioned between two major corridors, South Hopkins Avenue and US1.

MIAMI—The Related Group has acquired a 50% partnership interest in East End Capital's Wynwood 25 project. Going forward, East End and Related will co-control the development, which is slated to bring 289 rental apartments, 31,000 square feet of retail and 340 parking spaces to Wynwood. The efficiently-sized units are designed to add desperately-needed reasonably priced living options to the city's most creative and artistic neighborhood.

SUNNY ISLES BEACH, FL—Aurora Sunny Isles Beach sold 5,382 square feet of ground-floor commercial real estate at the luxury residential project to an international investor for $5.5 million, or about $1,022 per square foot. The commercial sale comes at a time when developer Verzasca Group is preparing to begin construction at Aurora this summer. Alex De Leon of Fortune International Realty represented the undisclosed buyer in the transaction.

MIAMI—KeyBank Real Estate Capital arranged a $52 million CMBS first mortgage loan for a five-property, self-storage portfolio known as SST II Self Storage Portfolio. The facilities were built between 1979 and 2001, and have a combined total of 586,849 square feet and 3,916 units. The properties are located across the state of Florida. Randy Martin of Key's Commercial Mortgage Group arranged the non-recourse financing with a 10-year term, five-year interest only period and 30-year amortization schedule. The loan was used to refinance existing debt.

LUTZ, FL—Bill Eshenbaugh and Chris Bowers closed on 20.2 acres located at 19120 Geraci Road, Lutz. The site is near Cheval in north Hillsborough County. The transaction closed for $4.2 million. Eshenbaugh and Bowers represented the seller. The site consists of two parcels, which were being used as a horse farm with several buildings, a horse barn, and multiple riding areas. Townhouses will be developed on the site.

BUILDING BLOCKS

FORT LAUDERDALE, FL—As the new Downtown Fort Lauderdale Brightline station takes shape just a few blocks away, Miller Construction Company is building ID Flagler Village, one of Fort Lauderdale's first new construction, luxury rental townhome communities in years, for Ceiba Groupe. With all four of the development's buildings underway, the general contractor is on track to complete the 24 three-story townhomes by year-end. The project is located at 103 Northeast 6 Street in Fort Lauderdale's Flagler Village neighborhood.

This week in Florida, we saw some strategic musical chairs playing out, a redevelopment opportunity hit the market, and significant action in Tampa and surrounding submarkets.

BY THE NUMBERS

South Florida rental demand continues to increase due to population growth, an inventory shortage and the rising costs of single-family homes. (Source: Cushman & Wakefield)

The supply of multifamily housing in South Florida continues to lag demand, with most new development coming in the class A-plus market. The supply of affordable and class B and C product remains constrained. (Source: Cushman & Wakefield)

NEWS & NOTABLES

TAMPA, FL—Feldman Equities hired industry veteran Christopher Ross as a senior analyst to help lead the expansion of its commercial real estate portfolio. He will prospect all new acquisitions and lead due diligence and perform financial analysis for development projects, including the company's upcoming mixed-use Riverwalk development. Prior to joining Feldman, he spent 10 years with MetLife's Real Estate Investments office. Most recently he served as director of acquisitions for Cantor Fund Management.

WEST PALM BEACH, FL—Anthony Librizzi has joined Cushman & Wakefield as a managing director of commercial brokerage in the company's West Palm Beach office. Librizzi will assume a leading role with an office leasing group. He comes to CushWake after nine years at CBRE, where he served as senior vice president assisting both office landlords and tenants in West Palm Beach, North Palm Beach and along the Treasure Coast. His prior brokerage experience includes two years at Applefield Waxman Commercial Real Estate.

DEAL TRACKER

FORT LAUDERDALE, FL—Cushman & Wakefield negotiated the sale of Courthouse Place, a 66,260-square-foot, class A office building in the Fort Lauderdale central business district (CBD). Executive director Scott O'Donnell, managing director Dominic Montazemi and senior associate Greg Miller, with assistance from the Cushman & Wakefield office leasing team of executive director Deanna Lobinsky and executive director Travis Herring, represented Courthouse Place Building Owner, LLC, an affiliate of West Palm Beach, FL-based Morning Calm Management, LLC, in the disposition. HRE/SEFIRA Courthouse Place, LLC acquired the asset for $13.7 million, or $207 per square feet.

TAMPA, FL—Avison Young has been retained to sell a 30.9-acre mixed-use redevelopment opportunity with over one half mile of waterfront and unobstructed views of Tampa Bay from Rattlesnake Point. Located at 5411 Tyson Avenue on the western-most portion of the Rattlesnake Point peninsula, the portfolio includes two land parcels and 137,705 square feet of industrial assets. Proposals for infrastructure and transportation improvements include a $3.3 billion plan to add express lanes on Interstates 4, 75, and 275, and a rebuild of the interstate bridge that connect Hillsborough and Pinellas Counties.

TAMPA, FL—Marcus & Millichap brokered the sale of Manhattan Luxury Apartments, a 24-unit apartment property located in Tampa. The multifamily asset sold for $2.825 million. Francesco P. Carriera, Michael P. Regan, Joshua Teplitzky and Cameron Barbas, investment specialists in Marcus & Millichap's Tampa office, represented the seller, a private investor as well as securing and representing the buyer, also a private investor.

TITUSVILLE, FL—Tiktin Real Estate Investment Services (TREIS) has been named the exclusive sales agent for Searstown Mall, a 285,380 square-foot retail plaza at 3550 South Washington Avenue in Titusville. Anchor tenants include Bealls Outlet, Sears and Satellite Cinemas. Adam J. Tiktin, president, and Cliff Weisner, senior associate, are heading the assignment on behalf of the ownership, and have listed the site for just over $8 million. Located within the centerpiece of Florida's Space Coast, Searstown Mall sits on 21.5 acres and is positioned between two major corridors, South Hopkins Avenue and US1.

MIAMI—The Related Group has acquired a 50% partnership interest in East End Capital's Wynwood 25 project. Going forward, East End and Related will co-control the development, which is slated to bring 289 rental apartments, 31,000 square feet of retail and 340 parking spaces to Wynwood. The efficiently-sized units are designed to add desperately-needed reasonably priced living options to the city's most creative and artistic neighborhood.

SUNNY ISLES BEACH, FL—Aurora Sunny Isles Beach sold 5,382 square feet of ground-floor commercial real estate at the luxury residential project to an international investor for $5.5 million, or about $1,022 per square foot. The commercial sale comes at a time when developer Verzasca Group is preparing to begin construction at Aurora this summer. Alex De Leon of Fortune International Realty represented the undisclosed buyer in the transaction.

MIAMI—KeyBank Real Estate Capital arranged a $52 million CMBS first mortgage loan for a five-property, self-storage portfolio known as SST II Self Storage Portfolio. The facilities were built between 1979 and 2001, and have a combined total of 586,849 square feet and 3,916 units. The properties are located across the state of Florida. Randy Martin of Key's Commercial Mortgage Group arranged the non-recourse financing with a 10-year term, five-year interest only period and 30-year amortization schedule. The loan was used to refinance existing debt.

LUTZ, FL—Bill Eshenbaugh and Chris Bowers closed on 20.2 acres located at 19120 Geraci Road, Lutz. The site is near Cheval in north Hillsborough County. The transaction closed for $4.2 million. Eshenbaugh and Bowers represented the seller. The site consists of two parcels, which were being used as a horse farm with several buildings, a horse barn, and multiple riding areas. Townhouses will be developed on the site.

BUILDING BLOCKS

FORT LAUDERDALE, FL—As the new Downtown Fort Lauderdale Brightline station takes shape just a few blocks away, Miller Construction Company is building ID Flagler Village, one of Fort Lauderdale's first new construction, luxury rental townhome communities in years, for Ceiba Groupe. With all four of the development's buildings underway, the general contractor is on track to complete the 24 three-story townhomes by year-end. The project is located at 103 Northeast 6 Street in Fort Lauderdale's Flagler Village neighborhood.