Dealmaker: Avison Young Brokers $49M in Florida Sales

Avison Young, Toronto, brokered two Florida sales totaling $49.4 million.

In Delray Beach, Fla., Avison Young Principal Keith O’Donnell completed three transactions totaling $33 million for Investors Warranty of America, which sold a 42.7-acre property that formerly housed Office Depot’s U.S. headquarters.

The three parcels at S. Congress Avenue and Old Germantown Road sold to three south Florida development groups that joined to create a new mixed-use project. Centerpointe Delray Holdings, a partnership between Miami-based firms 13th Floor Investments and Key International and CDS International Holdings, Boca Raton, plans to build more than 600 multifamily units. Separately, CDS International Holdings, which also owns the Arbors office building on the site’s northeast corner, plans to develop retail and office components. A 1.8-acre park with jogging and bike trails to connect to the 25-acre Delray Natural Oaks Preserve will anchor the new project.

The Delray Beach City Commission unanimously approved the master plan, which includes four- and five-story apartment buildings and two- and three-story townhouse buildings as well as the retail and restaurant space.

Avison Young also brokered the $16.4 million sale of Gables Entrance, a 12,500-square-foot retail asset at the eastern entrance of downtown Coral Gables. Occupying 1.15 acres at 2209 SW 37th Ave., Gables Entrance traded at $1,320 per square foot, one of the highest sale prices per square foot for a retail property not related to a re-development in Coral Gables over the past five years.

Representing Coral Way Entrance LLC, Avison Young Principals John Crotty and Michael Fay and Senior Associates Joshua Ladle and Brian de la Fé marketed the property and facilitated the sale to Nisa Holdings LLC.

Crotty said Coral Gables continues to perform significantly above national and area averages. As of third-quarter 2018, the Coral Gables submarket posted a 3.2 percent retail vacancy rate while the overall Miami-Dade County market reported a 4.2 percent vacancy rate. The average net retail rental rate in Coral Gables equaled $40.21 compared to $38.83 for the county.

Gables Entrance tenants include Chipotle Mexican Grill, Pei Wei, Toasted Bagelry & Deli and anchor J.P. Morgan Chase Bank.