DOWN SALES MARKET GIVES ADVANTAGE TO GOVERNMENT
Central Florida has seen a surge in land conservation transactions recently, according
to Lakeland-based Coldwell Banker Commercial Saunders Real Estate. The firm
would know, as it has completed more than $59 million in deals in the last few months,
and is still negotiating more.
Government transactions, under which many of the conservation land deals are
classified, are done by an appraisal process and the current proliferation of deals has
to do with the overall state of the real estate market, says Dean Saunders, the firm’s
owner and former state legislator.
“It’s very difficult for the government in a rising market, as it has been the past few
years, because they have to keep pace with land values,” Saunders explains. “They
might be chasing a deal, but are making offers to owners that are old when they get
them. Now the market has turned and is trying to seek some form of stabilization,”
which is when the government is able to negotiate. Also, in the current market, many
competitors for the land disappear and government entities can capitalize as all-cash
buyers, he adds.
For example, Saunders recently completed a deal south of Lake Wales in Polk
County involving a 3,000-acre conservation easement between the J.K. Stuart Trust
and the US Department of Agriculture. Land on the property was unusable to the
owner because of seasonal flooding, but will now be part of the Wetlands Reserve
Program. CBC cites the total value of the deal, which has more rights pending, at
$11 million.
In another government transaction in Kenansville, Saunders represented both the
seller and buyer in an $11.6-million deal with the board of trustees of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund of the State of Florida (Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation
Commission). The 1,656 acres of property, located next to the Three Lakes Wildlife
area, will be an expansion of the state’s land, which is used publicly for hunting.
Saunders also recently represented a local rancher/developer near Lake Hancock
in northern Polk County in a $9.5-million deal. The 1,056-acreage development was
purchased by the Southwest Florida Water Management District, which is working on
storing more water in Lake Hancock in order to provide more predictable flow into
the nearby Peace River.
“The state of Florida has been a leader in conservation for many years and those of
us who are property rights advocates applaud the state’s approach,” says Saunders.
“It is achieving a protection of individual property rights, as well as protecting land.”
In a related deal, CBC broker Brian Beasley represented seller Fred Gutwein Family Citrus LLC in a transaction of a 1,046-acre citrus farm in Hendry County. The
buyer, Corkscrew Partners, paid $5 million for the land.
The firm’s latest transaction involves 30 separate parcels of producing citrus acreage
located from north of Davenport to just north of Lake Wales. In total, 1,042 acres were
sold by owner Highland Cassidy to a private limited liability corporation registered in
Delaware for $22.3 million. Saunders says the buyer plans to invest long term, continuing to operate the land as a citrus grove within agriculturally rich eastern Polk
County.—Crystal Proenza
for the RECORD
HREC ARRANGES
FAIRFIELD INN SALE
Gainesville—HREC Investment Advisors’
Tampa office handled the recent closing of
the 132-room Fairfield Inn by Marriott here
by an affiliate of Intermountain Management
LLC to a private buyer for an undisclosed
price. The hotel, located near the University
of Florida and Shands Hospital, underwent
$1.1 million worth of renovations three years
ago to include upscale guest room ameni-ties, including new bedding packages.
SITE REGISTERS WITH USGBC
Kissimmee—Yeehaw Transportation & Distribution Center here has become the first
industrial park in the state to register with
the US Green Building Council. The 430-acre
site at State Road 60 and Florida’s Turnpike
recently received land use approval from
Osceola County and is now in the design
process. Kevin Hoover and Kerry Jackson,
vice presidents with CB Richard Ellis, have
been retained to represent owner Yeehaw
Ranch LLC in the sale of the property.
ATWELL-HICKS OPENS OFFICE
Orlando—Land development consulting
firm Atwell-Hicks LLC has opened a local office in leased space at 429 S. Keller Road.
The new office complements Atwell-Hicks’
regional office in Tampa, which was established three years ago.
UCP BUYS CAMPUS SITE
Orlando—United Cerebral Palsy of Central
Florida has purchased a six-acre site adjacent to the University of Central Florida
campus here from Boston-based Taurus
Investment Holdings. UCP plans to build its
30,000-sf East Orange/Bailes Campus Facility, a $9.2-million project set to open in
August 2009.
