TAMPA, FL-In back-to-back deals, North Miami Beach-based Equity One Inc. and Amprop Development Corp. of Tampa paid E&D Land II LLC of Clearwater $12.6 million, or $81,290 per acre ($1.87 per sf), for the acquisition of a 155-acre Sunlake development parcel in Pasco County, near Tampa.

In a separate transaction, Equity One closed a $14.9-million deal with the Don M. Casto Organization of Columbus, OH on the 100%-leased, 177,128-sf North River Village shopping center in North Ellenton, Manatee County, about 30 miles south of Downtown Tampa. Casto paid $84.12 per sf for the center.

Equity One chairman Chaim Katzman says the company acquired North River Village from Atlanta-based IRT Property Co. in a February 2003 merger transaction. He says Equity One will record a $1.7-million gain on the sale of for first quarter 2005. The center is co-anchored by Kmart and Publix.

"Overall, we have sold nine of the 93 assets we acquired in the merger, realizing $7.3 million of total gains on aggregate sales of $65.9 million," says Katzman. He adds, "We will continue to take advantage of strong real estate markets to recycle capital from non-core assets to more strategic acquisitions, developments and redevelopments in our target market."

The North Village sale is part of Katzman's vision to keep what he calls "necessity-based shopping centers as dynamic and vibrant hubs of community life."

He says "people need a place to shop for groceries. Some think supercenters will take over. [But] I don't think so. Grocery shopping is about convenience, being close to home. Neighborhood centers will keep serving the same needs they have all along, being the suppliers of daily necessities. People [still] need their hair done, dry cleaning, a dentist and fast food."

On the Sunlake development site in Pasco County, Equity has a 60% controlling interest in the joint venture, funded the purchase price from available funds, and will earn an 8% preferred return on its capital contribution, Katzman says.

The joint venture plans to develop the retail and office components of the site and expects to either sell the remaining acreage to local homebuilders or partner with them to complete the residential portion of the project. "Together with our partner, we intend to develop a mixed-use project that will be viewed as the centerpiece of this important area, and further strengthen our position as the largest owner of neighborhood shopping centers in the state of Florida," Katz says. Since Equity One went public in 1998, its assets have grown from $120 million to $2.2 billion.

The Sunlake parcel is about 20 miles north of Tampa on the north side of State Road 54 and about 2.5 miles east of the recently completed Suncoast Parkway, connecting Tampa to its fast-growing northern suburbs.

North Tampa encompasses numerous high-profile bedroom communities such as Land O' Lakes and Lutz, and is one of the fastest growing regions in Florida with over 17,000 new homes expected to be built, under construction or planned within a three-mile radius of the site.