Benderson Development Acquires Fort Myers Shopping Center

Benderson Development has expanded its local real estate portfolio with a 29-acre shopping center in Fort Myers.

The Florida-based firm recently acquired Cypress Trace, a 280,000-square-foot shopping center at 13334 South Cleveland Avenue for $40.4 million, or $144 per square foot, the Tampa Bay Business Journal reported.

Nuveen Real Estate was the seller. The shopping center is anchored by Winn-Dixie, CVS and a Bealls department store.

Benderson Development manages and owns over 750 properties in 40 states. Its portfolio includes 55 million square feet of retail, office, industrial, hotel, residential and land. The firm has experienced significant growth recently.

The acquisition follows the firm’s $140 million investment in three Florida land deals in September. The company also acquired two other prominent properties recently: the 347,700-square-foot Shops at Midtown Miami and the 28-key Park Plaza Hotel in Winter Park, which it bought last month for $16.25 million, or $580,000 per key.

Retail vacancy in the Tampa metro is very low, sitting at 3.9 percent in the second quarter, according to Colliers. Absorption increased in the quarter to 260,000 square feet. The region benefits from strong job and population growth and tourism. Investment sales hit $95.3 million in the second quarter, down from highs near $350 million in the same period of last year and 2022.

Several high-profile mixed-use developments underway, such as the $1.3 billion stadium-anchored project by the Tampa Bay Rays and Hines, which includes 750,000 square feet of retail space Additionally, Tampa’s Encore district is set to feature 19,000 square feet of retail space as part of its mixed-use development from Kirin Patel, supported by a $72.5 million loan from TD Bank.

— Andrew Terrell