Wharton Realty Group Acquires Homestead Pavillion Shopping Center For $82 Million

The New Jersey-based Wharton Realty Group has acquired Homestead Pavillion Shopping Center for $82 million from a joint venture including CREC Capital, Highline Real Estate Capital, MMG Equity Partners, and Lubert-Adler Real Estate funds. CREC Capital’s co-founders Alan Esquenazi and Warren Weiser facilitated the sale of a 298,000 SF retail center located at 2400 NE 10th Ct in Homestead. Danny Finkle and Eric Williams from JLL represented the buyer in the transaction.

“The transaction represents a strategic acquisition for the New Jersey-based real estate company to position themselves in an expanding bustling market,” said Alan Esquenazi, Co-Founder & Partner of CREC Capital. “The purchase further validates the strength of the South Florida retail market and the robust recovery in retail space post-pandemic.”

During the pandemic, the JV ownership group fully leased the property by securing tenants including Sprouts Farmers Market, Target, Dr. Limon, and Body Details. This dominant retail center in southern Miami-Dade County serves Homestead, Cutler Ridge, and the Florida Keys. The joint venture retained ownership of Target, Raising Canes, and Murphy Oil.

“Despite the pandemic’s challenging effects on the marketplace, we were able to line up anchor and in-line tenants which elevated the existing tenant base and supported a favorable execution for both sides of the transaction,” said Warren Weiser, Co-Founder & Partner of CREC Capital.

Wharton Realty Group is a premier real estate company based in New Jersey focused on managing and leasing diversified properties across the country with over one thousand tenants.

The resilience of the South Florida retail market throughout the pandemic has made it a hot spot for retail investors. Investment sales volume for retail assets in Miami-Dade County surged by 164.3% in 2021 reaching a total deal volume of $577 million, compared to the pre-pandemic year 2019 where the total trade volume of retail assets was $218 million.

Lennar Acquires Pine Isles Mobile Home Community In Homestead For $29 Million

Lennar Homes (NYSE: LEN) has acquired the former site of Pine Isles Mobile Home Community in Homestead for $29 million. The property is located at 28600 SW 132nd Ave. and spans 42.7 acres. Pines Isles Mobile Home Community serviced seniors and was disbanded in 2019 before the site was rezoned for the development of 456 single-family homes. The seller was MAC Thirteen LLC, an entity tied to Rolando Delgado of Treo Group, who will receive a portion of the proceeds from each home sold. Delgado purchased the site in 2018 for $12.99 million.

Lennar Homes has already launched sales of the project, named Pine Vista, a master-planned community of townhomes and single-family homes with resort-style amenities. Homebuyers will have 14 different floorpans to choose from and single family homes will range from 1,833 square feet to 3,221 square feet and pricing from $357,990 to $419,990. Townhomes will start in the $200,000’s. Amenities will include a clubhouse, pool and park.

Amazon To Build Largest Distribution Center in South Florida After Scoring Approval From Miami-Dade County

Miami-Dade commissioners have voted unanimously to sell a vacant lot located at 13200 Southwest 272nd Street near the Homestead Air Reserve Base in South Miami-Dade County to Amazon for $22,056,853, clearing the way for Amazon to build a new distribution center to service South Florida. Amazon will invest $80 million into the property to build out the distribution center which will be a minimum of 1 million square feet and could become the largest in the region. The distribution center would be used to distribute products including food, produce and groceries. The facility is expected to create at lease 325 permanent full-time jobs with an annual salary of $32,000. 25% of the funds paid by Amazon to acquire the site will be dedicated to the Miami-Dade Affordable Housing Trust and the remaining funds will be allocated to the Homestead Air Reserve Base Fund. The South Miami-Dade facility would be the 4th distribution center used by Amazon in the South Florida region.

Galium Capital Lists Stabilized Portfolio of 35+ Single-Family Homes Across South Florida For $10 Million

Galium Capital announced today the listing of a 35+ single-family home portfolio across South Florida for $10 million. The stabilized portfolio features homes which are located across several recently built communities in cities such as Doral, Homestead, Coconut Creek, Stuart, Miami and Hialeah.

The listing comes at a time when population growth in Southeast Florida has surpassed the pace of new home construction in the past 7 years. Nationwide, appetite for single family home rentals is growing faster than that of apartment rentals and South Florida’s rental market is expected to grow faster than the national average. Single family homes are the largest residential rental asset class.

The homes are of the highest-quality in their segment, built by one of the nation’s most reputable home builders. The new construction homes, finished in 2017, feature 2-floor concrete block construction as well as ready-to-move-in finishes including stainless steel appliances, granite counters, smart home technology, keypad entry and smart thermostats. The portfolio also includes community model home which include high-end finishes and homesite premiums. The community HOA’s are approved for FHA lending to home buyers and include resort style amenities.

This one-of-a-kind investment opportunity allows the bulk buyer to purchase the homes at 7.5% below retail value and 33% below replacement cost. The portfolio also boasts a high tenant profile with an outstanding performance record of 90% + occupancy. The strong occupancy is a result of the high demand in single-family rentals in South Florida. The current owner has a strict acceptance criteria including credit score, background check and collection standards. The highly liquid product gives the owner the opportunity to obtain value through rental yield or capitalizing on the gap between acquisition price and today’s retail market value.  

For more information, please contact Galium Capital at 305-433-2008 or www.galiumcapital.com.

About Galium Capital:

Aventura-based Galium Capital owns more than $300 million in commercial assets across the United States with asset management and property management performed in-house. Galium Capital invests in multifamily residential, retail, hotels and office space. Galium Capital is led by Jacques Bessoudo and Iser Rabinovitz.