Judge Dismisses Lawsuit Threatening To Sideline Plantation’s $300M 321 North Project, Case Refiled

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A lawsuit by the majority owner of the Fashion Mall that alleged a misuse of funds at the redevelopment project by its manager has been dismissed from federal court, although it was quickly refiled in state court.

U.S. District Judge James I. Cohen granted the motion by project manager Wei Chen and Mapuche LLC, the company that controls the property, to dismiss the lawsuit for lack of jurisdiction. Since both plaintiff Tangshan Ganglu Iron & Steel Co. and the defendants are Chinese citizens, it wouldn’t be proper for this case to be heard in U.S. federal court, the judge ruled.

The judge didn’t rule on Ganglu’s allegation that Chen misappropriated $48.7 million of the $50 million in funding that it provided for the project. Ganglu owns 80 percent of Mapuche while Chen owns the other 20 percent. Ganglu wanted a custodian to take over control of the development.

Miami attorney Lida Rodriguez-Taseff, who represents the plaintiff, said she refiled the lawsuit in Broward County Circuit Court.

“This was essentially a delay tactic on the part of the defendant to delay the inevitable,” Rodriguez-Taseff said.

The shuttered mall exited Chapter 11 in 2012 with plans for a 660,000-square-foot mixed-use development at 321 N. University Drive in Plantation. The first phase would be a renovated office building.

Even with the federal lawsuit dismissed, the question is whether the project can succeed while its main financial backer, Ganglu, is at odds with Chen.

 

Source:  SFBJ

Sperry Van Ness Reps Advance Fire & Security In Purchase Of Pompano Office Building

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Advance Fire & Security purchased a 28,000 square foot office building on 2.5 acres from Harrisons Holdings II, LLC for $2,250,000 or $81 per square foot.

Known as the Lakeview Health Building, the property is located at 2701 Gateway Drive, Pompano Beach.   It was constructed in 1982 by the agent’s father; Les Byron Associates.

Les Byron, Jr. SIOR, CCIM, Steve Davis and Keith Kidwell, SIOR, CCIM of Sperry Van Ness Commercial Realty in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, represented the Buyer in the transaction.

Whelchel Partners Brings 980 Cendyn To 75% Occupied With 50,000 SF In Deals

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Whelchel Partners Real Estate Services has secured more than 50,000 square feet of new tenants at the newly renovated 980 N. Federal Hwy., recently renamed 980 CENDYN.

The Boca Raton office building, formerly known as the Compson Financial Center, sold in August 2013 to local investment group Boca East Investments LLC.  Whelchel Partners represented the buyer in the acquisition of the 95,000 square foot building.

New anchor tenant Cendyn has recently moved into a full floor at the building, relocating its worldwide headquarters. The new ownership’s managing member, Charles Deyo, is also President and Founder of Cendyn, a full service hotel internet marketing agency.

Cendyn @ SPACES ThirdfloorCendyn Spaces, a modern concept business center and co-working location that allows for business and independent contractors to lease office and meeting space by the hour, the day, the month or the year providing ultimate flexibility.

Extensive renovations have recently been completed at the property, including new exterior façade (completion date August 1, 2014), new restaurant (Meat Eatery & Taproom), new HVAC chiller system, high tech security system, a multipurpose redesigned atrium, robust tenant improvements as well as upgraded common areas.  The building incorporates the latest technology innovations including  new 1 Gbps fiber link, Cisco Collaboration Infrastructure, CAT 6 cabling, enterprise class Wi-Fi throughout building.

Other new tenants include, R2 Unified Technology, Flagship Solutions, Matteis & Company and the new restaurant M.E.A.T.(Meat Eatery And Taproom), joining existing anchor tenant Wells Fargo.

The lease transactions bring the building from 25% occupied a year ago to over 75% occupied today.

“New ownership has created the infrastructure and environment to support the full spectrum of office users with the ability to offer 10 minute leases or 10 year leases” says Jay Whelchel, Principal of Whelchel Partners Real Estate, pictured above left.

Jay Whelchel and Whelchel President and Broker Kristy W. Hartofilis, pictured left, will remain on the project as leasing company and asset manager.

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About Whelchel Partners:  Whelchel Partners is located in Boca Raton, and offers commercial real estate services in Broward and Palm Beach Counties. For more information regarding Whelchel Partners, please visit the website at http://www.whelchelpartners.com or call 561-939-6636.

About Cendyn: Cendyn® is a full-service agency specializing in turnkey solutions that drive bottom line results for the travel and hospitality industries.   Cendyn represents 18,000 hotel and travel destinations with clients such as Starwood Hotels & Resorts, Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, Hyatt Hotels, Hilton Worldwide, Marriott, and other independent properties.  For more information, please call 866-625-4518 or visit http://www.cendyn.com

Peter Sheridan And JLL Part Ways

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Peter Sheridan has left JLL and has joined Liberty Property Trust effective May 5th.

Reportedly, Sheridan will be tasked to handle leasing activity for Liberty’s assets from the Cypress Creek market South including transactions at Miami International Tradeport.

Liberty Property Trust acquired 126 acres in Miami-Dade County in late 2011 for the development of  Miami International Tradeport in conjunction with Butters Construction & Development.

With an anticipated 1.6 million square feet of new institutional-grade warehouse and distribution space planned, Miami International Tradeport (MIT) is expected to add $135 million in value to Miami-Dade County’s tax base and create 4,000 new construction jobs with 2,000 full-time jobs upon completion.

Peter joined JLL in 2011 as Senior Vice President in Agency Leasing.

He previously worked for Premier Commercial Realty as President where he reported directly to the owners of the company regarding marketing, leasing, acquisition, management, design, and development of properties. Previous to that he worked for The Hogan Group as Regional Vice President and for Colliers International as Senior Vice President.

Peter is a member of NAIOP and holds his Florida Real Estate Brokers and Mortgage Brokers Licenses. He earned his Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Wabash College.

 

Office Building Finds New Owner After Less Than 30 Days On The Market

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Avison Young completed the $2.1 million sale of Plantation Tech I, a 37,357-square-foot office building located at 6600 NW 16th Street within, Plantation Technology Park.

David Duckworth, Vice President of Investment Sales with Avison Young, represented the seller, Matecumbe Rand Plantation I, LLC, in this transaction.

“Upon initial evaluation of the asset, we recommended that upcoming expiring leases be extended to add value and marketability of the building,” said Duckworth. “Once completed, we listed the building on the market and had a deal principally agreed upon within 30 days.”

Plantation Tech I is a fully occupied, single-story office building; it was highly sought after because it offers solid in-place cash flow along with value add potential. This submarket is attractive to tenants because of the ability to lease space at rental rates below County averages and it offers flexible zoning, which allows for a myriad of end-users.

Recent market reports indicate that the availability of attractive financing and overall improving market conditions positively impacted the volume of investment sales in the first quarter.

Plantation Technology Park was established in 1948 as the first industrial park in Broward County. The Park is comprised of approximately 160 acres located in the northeastern section of the City of Plantation. The area is home to Motorola Mobility Inc.’s 1 million-square-foot headquarters facility.

Richard Gerber Receives ‘Small Business Leader of the Year’ Award

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The Coral Springs Chamber of Commerce awarded the “Small Business Leader of the Year” for 2014 to Richard Gerber of Bryason Realty Corporation of Boca Raton.

The award is in acknowledgement of Richard’s commitment to the Coral Springs business community, his clients, and the Coral Springs Chamber of Commerce.

As a Commercial Real Estate Sales and Leasing professional with Bryason, Richard has assisted numerous firms in relocations to Coral Springs.