NEWS & NOTABLES

TAMPA, FL—Cushman & Wakefield senior directors Luis Elorza and Brad Capas rejoined the firm as members of the firm's rapidly expanding Florida multifamily brokerage team led by vice chairman Robert Given. In their new roles, the duo has assumed responsibility for expanding Cushman & Wakefield's apartment brokerage presence along Florida's West Coast, extending from Greater Tampa through Naples.

ORLANDO—Cushman & Wakefield has been named exclusive advisor in the disposition of Palazzo del Lago, a 41-acre mixed-use development site in Orlando's tourist corridor. The land brokerage team of Margery Johnson and Andy Slowik were selected by Chicago-based Highlands REIT to market the site for sale. Palazzo del Lago is a 40.89-acre parcel located on International Drive South, just north of State Road 417 (The Central Florida GreeneWay). The site is less than three minutes from Interstate 4, six minutes from Walt Disney World, 10 minutes from Sea World and 15 minutes from Universal Orlando. “Orlando's impressive visitor numbers and employment figures continue to flourish and International Drive South has witnessed similar growth and development, including the recently completed 314-unit Alexan Crossroads luxury apartment complex to the south,” says Johnson. “Palazzo del Lago represents a rare opportunity for developers to gain control of a site with an unparalleled location and waterfront access to Lake Bryan. We anticipate significant investor interest in the parcel as a result.”

DEAL TRACKER

MAITLAND, FL—NXT Capital provided a $28 million first mortgage loan to finance the acquisition of a three-building class B office portfolio. The properties are Maitland 100, 555 Winderley, and 901 Maitland, all located in Maitland. The properties are just north of Orlando's Central Business District, with excellent access to Interstate 4. Many complementary services are located nearby, including hotels, shopping, restaurants and the RDV Sportsplex, which is home to the Orlando Magic basketball team.

PEMBROKE PINES, FL—Avison Young has been retained as the exclusive leasing team for Broward County's newest proposed office development, The Edison Pembroke Pines, a creative office park comprised of 330,000-square-feet of class A office space. The complex spans two, three-story buildings and a 5,000-square-foot central amenity building located along Interstate 75 at Southwest 145^th Avenue in Pembroke Pines. Avison Young's Greg Martin and Justin Cope, will spearhead the leasing and marketing of the project on behalf of the developer, Atlanta-based TPA Group.

ISLAMORADA, FL—Atlanta-based developer Songy Highroads acquired two hotels in the Florida Keys village of Islamorada in a joint venture with Washington, D.C.-based Wardman Group. The purchase marks Songy Highroads' entry into the high-barrier market. The first hotel is the Harbor Lights Motel, a 37-room waterfront property located at 84951 Overseas Highway on Windley Key. The second hotel is the Days Inn & Suites Key Islamorada, a 37-room hotel located two miles from Harbor Lights at 82749 Overseas Highway on Upper Matecumbe Key.

ORLANDO—JLL closed on a new 172,000-square-foot lease at 2307 Tradeport Drive, an industrial facility located within Liberty Park at AIPO in Southeast Orlando. Lennox, a leading provider of heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems, will occupy 100% of the building and will be the first tenant to occupy the space that was built in 2016. JLL's Bill Kee, Joe Hill and Josh Lipoff represented Lennox in the lease negotiations.

PEMBROKE PINES, FL—Walker & Dunlop closed an $87 million investment sale for Town City Center, a newly constructed, class AA apartment community in Pembroke Pines. Greg Engler, Roberto Pesant, and Chris Conklin led the Walker & Dunlop Investment Sales team, which represented both Related Group, the seller, and Rockpoint Group, the buyer. “This transaction exemplifies strong investor demand for well-located, stabilized core assets across the South Florida multifamily market,” Pesant says. “Town City Center will prove to be prime investment property for Rockpoint.”

TAMARAC, FL—ESJ Capital Partners sold two Florida charter schools for approximately $30.5 million. Charter School Capital, a Portland-based charter school landlord, acquired the schools in Riverview and Tamarac, for $8.2 million and $22.3 million, respectively. Colliers International brokers Achikam Yogev and Todd Noel represented ESJ Capital Partners and Charter School Capital in both transactions.

TAMPA, FL—Taylor Morrison closed on the acquisition of the A La Carte Shrine Pavilion property in Tampa from Egypt Temple Holding Corporation Inc. Located three miles west of the Westshore business district and eight miles west of Downtown Tampa, the 15-acre waterfront property will be redeveloped to feature single-family homes and townhomes. The preliminary plans also include a resort-style pool and cabana. Residents will be able to enjoy the existing community dock, and the single-family lots will be zoned to allow for individual docks. This acquisition provides a rare opportunity for new home construction in the heart of Tampa.

BUILDING BLOCKS

MIAMI—Housing Trust Group closed on financing to begin construction of 150 new affordable apartments in Miami-Dade County. Princeton Park, a $36 million housing community located at 13105 Southwest 248 Street in the Princeton Community Urban Center District of unincorporated Miami-Dade County, will break ground this month. Adjacent to US 1, Princeton Park offers accessibility to major transit connectors such as the South Miami-Dade Busway which runs on an exclusive lane to Downtown and the airport, promoting an alternative to daily traffic congestion. All of the units will be reserved for family households earning at or below 60% of Area Median Income, which is currently $45,300 for a family of four.

MIAMI—This week in Florida saw a homecoming for some former CushWake brokers as the musical chairs continues in South Florida. And affordable housing developers are still trying to fill the void in the region with new projects under development.

BY THE NUMBERS

Two-out-of-three top real estate executives surveyed say they are more likely to invest in predictive analytics (65%), marketing automation (65%) and big data (64%). (Source: Imprev)

Less than half of real estate professionals are likely to invest in augmented realty and virtual reality 3D Tours (46%). Only one-third are likely to invest in artificial intelligence (30%) by 2022. (Source: Imprev)

NEWS & NOTABLES

TAMPA, FL—Cushman & Wakefield senior directors Luis Elorza and Brad Capas rejoined the firm as members of the firm's rapidly expanding Florida multifamily brokerage team led by vice chairman Robert Given. In their new roles, the duo has assumed responsibility for expanding Cushman & Wakefield's apartment brokerage presence along Florida's West Coast, extending from Greater Tampa through Naples.

ORLANDO—Cushman & Wakefield has been named exclusive advisor in the disposition of Palazzo del Lago, a 41-acre mixed-use development site in Orlando's tourist corridor. The land brokerage team of Margery Johnson and Andy Slowik were selected by Chicago-based Highlands REIT to market the site for sale. Palazzo del Lago is a 40.89-acre parcel located on International Drive South, just north of State Road 417 (The Central Florida GreeneWay). The site is less than three minutes from Interstate 4, six minutes from Walt Disney World, 10 minutes from Sea World and 15 minutes from Universal Orlando. “Orlando's impressive visitor numbers and employment figures continue to flourish and International Drive South has witnessed similar growth and development, including the recently completed 314-unit Alexan Crossroads luxury apartment complex to the south,” says Johnson. “Palazzo del Lago represents a rare opportunity for developers to gain control of a site with an unparalleled location and waterfront access to Lake Bryan. We anticipate significant investor interest in the parcel as a result.”

DEAL TRACKER

MAITLAND, FL—NXT Capital provided a $28 million first mortgage loan to finance the acquisition of a three-building class B office portfolio. The properties are Maitland 100, 555 Winderley, and 901 Maitland, all located in Maitland. The properties are just north of Orlando's Central Business District, with excellent access to Interstate 4. Many complementary services are located nearby, including hotels, shopping, restaurants and the RDV Sportsplex, which is home to the Orlando Magic basketball team.

PEMBROKE PINES, FL—Avison Young has been retained as the exclusive leasing team for Broward County's newest proposed office development, The Edison Pembroke Pines, a creative office park comprised of 330,000-square-feet of class A office space. The complex spans two, three-story buildings and a 5,000-square-foot central amenity building located along Interstate 75 at Southwest 145^th Avenue in Pembroke Pines. Avison Young's Greg Martin and Justin Cope, will spearhead the leasing and marketing of the project on behalf of the developer, Atlanta-based TPA Group.

ISLAMORADA, FL—Atlanta-based developer Songy Highroads acquired two hotels in the Florida Keys village of Islamorada in a joint venture with Washington, D.C.-based Wardman Group. The purchase marks Songy Highroads' entry into the high-barrier market. The first hotel is the Harbor Lights Motel, a 37-room waterfront property located at 84951 Overseas Highway on Windley Key. The second hotel is the Days Inn & Suites Key Islamorada, a 37-room hotel located two miles from Harbor Lights at 82749 Overseas Highway on Upper Matecumbe Key.

ORLANDO—JLL closed on a new 172,000-square-foot lease at 2307 Tradeport Drive, an industrial facility located within Liberty Park at AIPO in Southeast Orlando. Lennox, a leading provider of heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems, will occupy 100% of the building and will be the first tenant to occupy the space that was built in 2016. JLL's Bill Kee, Joe Hill and Josh Lipoff represented Lennox in the lease negotiations.

PEMBROKE PINES, FL—Walker & Dunlop closed an $87 million investment sale for Town City Center, a newly constructed, class AA apartment community in Pembroke Pines. Greg Engler, Roberto Pesant, and Chris Conklin led the Walker & Dunlop Investment Sales team, which represented both Related Group, the seller, and Rockpoint Group, the buyer. “This transaction exemplifies strong investor demand for well-located, stabilized core assets across the South Florida multifamily market,” Pesant says. “Town City Center will prove to be prime investment property for Rockpoint.”

TAMARAC, FL—ESJ Capital Partners sold two Florida charter schools for approximately $30.5 million. Charter School Capital, a Portland-based charter school landlord, acquired the schools in Riverview and Tamarac, for $8.2 million and $22.3 million, respectively. Colliers International brokers Achikam Yogev and Todd Noel represented ESJ Capital Partners and Charter School Capital in both transactions.

TAMPA, FL—Taylor Morrison closed on the acquisition of the A La Carte Shrine Pavilion property in Tampa from Egypt Temple Holding Corporation Inc. Located three miles west of the Westshore business district and eight miles west of Downtown Tampa, the 15-acre waterfront property will be redeveloped to feature single-family homes and townhomes. The preliminary plans also include a resort-style pool and cabana. Residents will be able to enjoy the existing community dock, and the single-family lots will be zoned to allow for individual docks. This acquisition provides a rare opportunity for new home construction in the heart of Tampa.

BUILDING BLOCKS

MIAMI—Housing Trust Group closed on financing to begin construction of 150 new affordable apartments in Miami-Dade County. Princeton Park, a $36 million housing community located at 13105 Southwest 248 Street in the Princeton Community Urban Center District of unincorporated Miami-Dade County, will break ground this month. Adjacent to US 1, Princeton Park offers accessibility to major transit connectors such as the South Miami-Dade Busway which runs on an exclusive lane to Downtown and the airport, promoting an alternative to daily traffic congestion. All of the units will be reserved for family households earning at or below 60% of Area Median Income, which is currently $45,300 for a family of four.