Developer Set To Buy Land For $168M Coral Springs Mixed-Use Project

A developer is set to acquire land at the intersection of University Drive and Sample Road in Coral Springs for construction of a hotel, an apartment building, and retail space.

Coral Springs Financial Plaza at University Drive and Sample Road (Credit: Sun-Sentinel)

Developer Ron Sheldon of Boca Raton-based PreDevCo expects to close next month on the acquisition of a seven-acre site on the southwest corner of the intersection.

Sheldon would build a $168 million cluster of developments there, including a 450-unit apartment building and a 150-room hotel  with its own parking garage. He also plans to build retail spaces for a grocery store and a half dozen bars and restaurants. Coral Springs Financial Plaza, a 10-story office building on the southwest corner of the intersection, would be razed.

Sheldon’s development would be part of the city government’s vision of a new downtown district in Coral Springs at University Drive and Sample Road.

Coral Springs, which is preparing to open a new City Hall on the southwest corner of the intersection of University Drive and Sample Road, wants to sell the current City Hall location on the northwest corner to a developer. The city also may acquire a nearby shopping plaza for redevelopment.

In addition, the city plans to find a new location for the Coral Springs Charter School on the southeast corner of the intersection and to sell the land there to a developer.

The northeast corner of University Drive and Sample Road is occupied by the  former location of a Publix supermarket that closed after Hurricane Wilma hit South Florida in 2005.

 

Source: The Real Deal

Medical Marijuana Firm Sold In $43 Million Deal

A New York-based company has purchased a Central Florida pot operation for $43 million in cash and stock, amid expectations that the industry will explode following the voter-approved legalization of medical marijuana more than a year ago.

iAnthus Capital Management purchased the assets of GrowHealthy Holdings, a Lake Wales marijuana operator affiliated with McCrory’s Sunny Hill Nursery, except for the marijuana license. The transfer of ownership of the license is pending approval by the state Department of Health.

Under the deal, which involves the marijuana operator and its affiliated businesses, iAnthus is paying GrowHealthy $12.5 million for its Lake Wales real estate and 200,000-square-foot cultivation and processing facility. GrowHealthy, one of the state’s 13 licensed medical marijuana operators, will also receive $30 million worth of shares in iAnthus, which is traded on the Canadian Securities Exchange. iAnthus will also purchase the Lake Wales company’s $5 million bond, required by the state for all marijuana operators.

The New York company also owns marijuana operations in Massachusetts, Vermont, Colorado and New Mexico and has a pending acquisition in New York, according to iAnthus President Randy Maslow.

“Florida is really going to be our number one operation, in terms of size and everything else,” Maslow said.

GrowHealthy started distributing marijuana to patients via delivery in November but has not opened a retail dispensary.

According to a news release announcing the deal, the company is planning to open a dispensary in Palm Beach County later this year.

“As one of the largest states in the U.S. with a population of nearly 21 million people and favorable demographics, Florida and its medical cannabis market provide a tremendous opportunity for iAnthus and its shareholders. The state’s population includes a large percentage of older adults who can derive significant benefits from medical cannabis, and the Florida program has witnessed a rapid rise in its registered patient base since passage of the law,” Maslow said in the release.

Voters in November 2016 approved a constitutional amendment that broadly legalized medical marijuana and helped fuel a battle for a limited number of licenses. About 45,000 patients have received state-issued identification cards allowing them to purchase the marijuana treatment, but the number is expected to dramatically increase in coming years.

 

Source: WUSF News

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CRE Florida Partners Closes On Deerfield Beach Industrial Sale

Tom Robertson, Co-Founder and Senior Managing Partner with CRE Rauch Robertson, CRE Florida Partners company, recently completed the sale of an industrial property located at 3411 SW 11th Street in Deerfield Beach to RMB Holdings LLC for $2,700,000.

This ±21,165 square foot facility, built in 1987, is situated on ±1.3 acres, which fronts both SW 10th and SW 11th Street.

Robertson has represented the leasing and sale interests for this building since 2002.

“The property’s close proximity to Sawgrass Expressway and I-95 via SW 10th Street certainly added tremendous value to the offering,” said Robertson.

The available sale inventory is low and CRE Florida Partners is currently working with several buyers looking for similar properties in North Broward and Southern Palm Beach County.

Tom Robertson

“This acquisition represents the ‘down leg’ sale of an IRC1031 Tax Free Exchange,” explained Robertson. “We are very pleased to represent this seller in both the “down leg” and “up leg” purchase of this tax free exchange.”

Michael Rauch

“This is just another example of how our firm handles long term relationships with our clients,” added Michael Rauch, CRE Florida Partners’ Senior Managing Partner. “Tom managed this property through lease up and sale with skill and patience while armed with critical market intelligence.”

CRE Rauch, Robertson & Co. is seeking leasing and investment sales professionals for its growing commercial real estate expansion in Broward and Palm Beach counties. Multiple positions are available within these and other Florida markets that offer a unique ground floor career opportunity to work closely with the firm’s Founders Tom Robertson and Michael Rauch to move their vision for the CRE Florida Partners brand forward. Commission and benefits are commensurate with experience. A Florida Real Estate License and Commercial Real Estate experience are required. Only qualified candidates should apply by forwarding resumes to mail@crefloridapartners.com.

 

 

 

Wellington To Make Final Decision On Medical Pot Dispensaries

Wellington’s village council will hold a second and final hearing on Jan. 8th evening regarding a proposed zoning change that would allow medical marijuana dispensaries in the village, with restrictions.

Because state law requires local governments to treat medical pot dispensaries no differently than pharmacies, the new zoning rules would apply to both pharmacies and dispensaries.

If the measure passes, dispensaries and pharmacies would need to be a minimum of 10,000 square feet, and they would not be allowed within 1,000 feet of a primary or secondary school. Also, one pharmacy or dispensary would be allowed per shopping center, with an exception for pharmacies in grocery stores.

The size, number and distance restrictions would be waived for pharmacies or dispensaries along State Road 7 in standalone buildings or in plazas with frontage on that road.

If the proposed changes are approved, Wellington would be the first municipality in Palm Beach County to change its pharmacy zoning to determine where medical marijuana dispensaries may be built.

In an initial vote on Nov. 14, the council moved 3-2 to approve the changes, with Mayor Anne Gerwig and Councilman Michael Drahos dissenting.

At that meeting, Drahos noted that while 72 percent of Wellington voters supported Amendment 2 in November 2016 to legalize medical pot in Florida, they may not necessarily want dispensaries in the village.

“People like the idea, they just don’t necessarily want it in their backyard,” Drahos said.

But with Wellington “essentially at built-out,” Vice Mayor John McGovern said the village is in a unique position to direct where dispensaries can be located — essentially, the Southern Boulevard corridor.

There will be public comment as part of the hearing. Also at the meeting, the council will discuss an application for a seasonal permit at Polo West Golf Club, three ordinances to continue the village’s work to streamline its land-development regulations and approval of a contract for a housing and economic impact study.

 

Source: Palm Beach Post

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Strong Economy Sets Stage For More Growth In Palm Beach County In 2018

Meet the new year, same as the old year. Or maybe better.

Palm Beach County’s economy is expected to continue its strong growth, as the year wrapped up with a still-booming real estate market, combined with continued business growth in the area.

President Donald Trump’s part-time residence at his Mar-a-Lago mansion on Palm Beach has drawn attention to the county both as a business and tourist destination. But even prior to Trump’s January inauguration, the county already was flush with new hotel construction geared to the rise in tourism.

“The county’s newest hotel, the Hilton at the Palm Beach County Convention Center, had a strong first with 85 percent occupancy,” according to Ken Himmel, president of Related Urban, the hotel’s developer.

More hotels are under construction, including an Aloft Hotel in Delray Beach and a Canopy Hotel in West Palm Beach. Tourism wasn’t the county’s only booming field.

“The past 12 months saw growth in a variety of industries,” said Kelly Smallridge, president of the Business Development Board, the county’s business recruitment arm.

Among the companies growing are Bee Access, a scaffolding manufacturer in West Palm Beach; Jupiter-based Parametric Solutions, which engineers and makes gas turbine engines for aircraft and industrial power applications; and GeoGlobal Partners, which designs and makes pumps and valves in West Palm Beach.

“We’re one of the rare counties that has six to eight solid industries,” Smallridge said, ticking off manufacturing, equestrian, tourism, agribusiness, financial services, corporate headquarters and distribution and logistics.

Another growing area: Companies run by entrepreneurs. Moderning Medicine, a Boca Raton-based medical records firm and one of the fastest-growing technology companies in South Florida, said in 2017 it plans to hire 800 people, in addition to the more than 500 it already employs.

Helping boost more corporate growth in the coming year: The Brightline passenger train, slated to start regular service in the coming weeks.

“Companies already are saying they feel more comfortable opening offices in Palm Beach County because they know they can pull employees from Broward or Miami-Dade counties,” Smallridge said.

Of course, the biggest driver of Palm Beach County remains real estate. Growth, particularly in the housing market, was hot in 2017 and will remain so in 2018, experts say. This is despite the lengthy real estate boom that now is stretching into its eighth year.

Housing analyst Jack McCabe said he expected to see a market correction on the horizon, but he now thinks a slowdown will be delayed by the the tax legislation passed by Congress. The sweeping tax law limits deductions for state and local taxes.

“This is bad news for residents in such high-tax states as New Jersey and New York but good news for Florida, which has no state income tax and already is a destination for residents from the Northeast,” said McCabe, of McCabe Consulting in Deerfield Beach.

It’s not just the housing market that will get a boost from the tax bill, business leaders said.

“Executives already have been making inquiries about bringing their companies to Palm Beach County,” Smallridge said. “We’ve seen 20 plus calls over the last month. There’s already a steady stream of inquiries by companies seeking to relocate. Among them are corporate headquarters and financial services firms out of Manhattan, Boston, Greenwich and even Chicago. Tax attorneys in the Northeast are hard at work figuring out how to domicile companies in Florida.

If they consider moving companies, corporate leaders will find rental housing available but for-sale homes difficult to find. That’s because there’s been little new home construction during the past decade.

“Homeowners are staying in their homes longer, prompting a number of residents to remodel existing homes,” said Brad Hunter, chief economist of HomeAdvisor, which connects homeowners with local service professionals to complete home improvement or remodeling jobs.

Although new apartment complexes are cropping up throughout the county, many come with rents that can reach nearly $2,000 a month or more.

“It’s very tough for people to rent right now, and if they do, it’s hard to save up for any down payment for a home,” McCabe said.

Among the new apartment complexes that opened in 2017: The 400-unit Altis apartments in Boca Raton; the 205-unit apartment tower dubbed The Alexander in West Palm Beach. Other projects commenced construction, including the 315-unit Broadstone City Center and the 290-unit Park-Line in West Palm Beach, both of which are expected to attract renters who may use the Brightline train station nearby.

High land prices have made it difficult for home developers to find locations to build. Some are turning to infill sites, such as golf courses, for new homes, while others are looking west. In July, Minto Communities started construction on Westlake, a newly-created city set to contain 4,500 new homes. The city is off Seminole Pratt Whitney Road north of Okeechobee Boulevard.

Also in demand are new offices and industrial space. But both are hard to find, said Rebel Cook of Rebel Cook Real Estate and president of the Economic Forum, a business group.

“Industrial space, particularly small sizes, is virtually impossible to find, crimping growth by companies that want to expand their businesses here,” said Cook. “If you’re a growing company and you want to go from 5,000 to 10,000 square feet, I can’t find you anything here. This is the first time in 35 years of selling warehouses that I don’t have one warehouse for sale. Not one.”

New offices could be coming to West Palm Beach but not right away. In early 2018, The Related Cos. of New York is expected to propose construction of an urban-style office building next to CityPlace in West Palm Beach. In addition, billionaire Palm Beach investor Jeff Greene has pledged he will start construction on One West Palm, a twin-tower office/hotel/housing complex set for 550 Quadrille Blvd. in West Palm Beach.

 

Source: Palm Beach Post