MT . DORA, FL – Pine Tree Realty of Northbrook, Ill., has acquired Loch Leven Plaza in an Orlando suburb. GlobeSt.com spoke with Peter Borzak, co-founder and principal or Pine Tree Realty, moments after the deal closed late Friday afternoon.
Publix anchors the Loch Leven Plaza, which opened in March 2010. Publix relocated its store from a shopping center across the street in May after serving the area for 17 years. The grocer takes up 54,340 square feet of space in the 77,00- square-foot plaza. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
“Publix has a 20-year lease at the shopping center,” Borzak says. “That makes this a solid deal with very few moving parts and a predictable cash flow. This was the first acquisition we’ve made in a while. It feels good to be on the offensive again actively looking for new projects.”
The property was developed and sold by Loch Leven I LLC, and affiliate of Morse Properties, Inc, a Longwood-based real estate company. Morse is retaining and devloping the outparcles within the project. Suntrust, Chase, and CentraCare have already committed to some of the project’s remaining available out parcels.
Financing fir the acquisition was arranged with Bank of America by William Barry of Chicago-based Draper and Kramer. Barry could not immediately be reached for comment.
Pine Tree Executive Vice President Tim Roe says about a third of the tenants are open in an adjacent inline space, with the remaining tenants expected to open by Thanksgiving. The center is 99% leased with one 900-foot vacancy. Five Guys Burgers and Fries and Great Clips are among the tenants.
Since 1995, Pine Tree has acquired and developed 60 shopping centers in the U.S., including properties in California, Washington, Idaho, Colorado, Ohio, Alabama, Florida, and many Midwestern sates. Like many real estate firms, Pine Tree slowed down when the market crashed.
“I think this is a terrific asset, newly constructed and ready to go-the ideal shopping center for us to enter the Florida market with,” says Todd Zinsmaster, senior vice president of Pine Tree Reality. “We’re looking for high quality shopping centers, regardless of where they’re located. We can buy a wide range of retail properties from value-add or redeveloped projects to stabilized core assets.”
