A Miami Lakes investment duo scored a $35.6 million loan for a major makeover of their Publix-anchored shopping center in Kendall.
An entity managed by Michael and Spencer Friedman, who lead CF Properties, a Miami Lakes-based boutique commercial real estate investment and management firm, owns Crossings Shopping Village, at 12955 Southwest 112th Street.
Howard Taft, Charles Penan and Joel Zusman, with Miami-based real estate investment and merchant banking firm Aztec Group, secured the financing for the Crossings Shopping Village renovation project from Valley Bank, according to a release.
In 1987, the Friedmans paid $6.9 million for the 106,600-square-foot shopping center, which was built in 1982, according to records. In addition to Publix, the retail center’s tenants also include CVS and YouFit, the release states.
The financing will cover construction of a new 47,000-square-foot Publix, as well as a new facade, parking field, lighting, and landscaping, the release states. A portion of the funds will also be used to acquire an adjacent parcel of land at the corner of Southwest 112th Street and Southwest 132nd Avenue occupied by a gas station.
In a statement, Aztec Group’s Zusman said Publix has been the shopping center’s anchor tenant for 40 years and recently renewed a long-term lease. The new grocery store will ensure the future strength and stability of Crossings Shopping Village, Zusman added.
Founded in 1993, CF Properties has 10 properties under management across a variety of asset classes totaling about 1 million square feet, according to the firm’s website.
Publix-anchored shopping centers are typically hot commodities in South Florida’s retail sector. In February, Jacksonville-based Sleiman Enterprises paid $48 million for Delray Square in Delray Beach. Built in 1976 on 16 acres, the shopping center was redeveloped in 2019 with Publix moving into a new 45,600-square-foot building.
In December, Germany’s Union Investment bought the Publix-anchored, fully leased Fountains of Boynton shopping center for $79.5 million. And two months earlier, in a blockbuster deal, a joint venture of Kimco Realty and Blackstone paid $425.8 million for a 70 percent interest in five South Florida Publix-anchored shopping centers and one in Georgia.