Dealmakers: Greg Matus and Peter Crane
The Deal: The Franklin Street brokers represented both sides in the sale of two Fort Lauderdale retail centers for nearly $12.5 million.
Details: They brokered the sale of the 25,678-square-foot, 19-tenant, unanchored retail center at 4300 North Federal Highway to HAZ Real Estate Investment LLC on Feb. 26. The Toronto investor paid $6.25 million for the property, which was 95 percent leased at closing. The seller was Gerig Group LLC, a private investor based in Middleburg.
“Demand for this asset was very high as we had more than 20 offers,” said Matus, who specializes in unanchored South Florida retail centers.
The second transaction involved the 12,300-square-foot center at 2121 N. Federal Highway, which sold March 11 for $6.1 million. The property is fully occupied by regional and national tenants with long-term leases. THe seller, 2121 Investments LLC, built the retail center in 2013 on land owned by a third party. The buyer, Boston Trader 2121 LLC, purchased the building as part of a 1031 exchange. Two other brokerage firms tried to market the property before Franklin Street got the listing.
“There’s significant investor demand for multi-tenant, unanchored retail centers in South Florida,” Matus said. “Rising rents and the low cost of capital are driving the market at the moment.”
Background: Greg Matus is the regional managing partner and Peter Crane is an investment associate with Franklin Street.
