A Terranova Corp. affiliate just sold the Suniland Shopping Center to Denver-based Dividend Capital for $66.5 million.
Terranova’s Suniland Associates Ltd. had owned the property for 22 years, originally purchasing the center in two transactions: paying $9.3 million in 1994, then buying an out-parcel for $1.12 million in 1996. The total was $10.4 million for the 82,000-square-foot property on 7.11 acres at 11325 South Dixie Highway in Pinecrest.
The latest sale price equates to $811 per square foot.
Investors received an annualized internal rate of return over the investment period of 33 percent, Terranova said in a release. “Suniland has provided one of the most remarkable returns on a real estate investment ever, returning an equity multiple of twenty five times,” Terranova Chairman Stephen Bittel said in a statement.
Bittel was on a plane flight on Tuesday, but responded to The Real Deal via email, saying his company chose to sell the property now because it was “the highest income ever. It’s a wide open capital market with huge demand for A quality assets in A markets.”
Bittel said there was “enormous interest in purchasing the asset from buyers throughout the country.” But Dividend Capital’s price was the highest “and they were fast,” Bittel said.
The sale was brokered by Mark Gilbert of Cushman and Wakefield.
The shopping center’s tenants include Flanigans, Piola, SunTrust, Citicorp, the U.S. Post Office, CVS, Nicklaus Children’s Hospital, Pete’s Barber Shop and Wagons West.
Dividend Capital, a real estate investment trust, has been expanding its holdings in South Florida. In December 2015, the company purchased the Bank of America Tower in Boca Raton from Clarion Partners for $35.75 million. The firm primarily invests in commercial assets, and has a portfolio of 59 properties, totaling roughly 9.8 million square feet, according to its website.