Outdoor Plaza Theater Dirt Goes for $809,524 per Acre

Salthouse Group of Clearwater, FL bought the dirt and the vacant 26,509-sf building at auction for $1.7 million or $809,524 per acre ($18.54 per sf).

Based on the building's size alone, the price equates to $64.13 per sf, half of its estimated replacement cost, area construction industry estimators tell GlobeSt.com on condition of anonymity.

Salthouse plans to produce The Rock & Rabbi musical at the 425 N. Bumby Ave. property Nov. 9, brokers familiar with the deal tell GlobeSt.com.

The property's value was arrived at largely by its next-door location to the 488,000-sf Colonial Plaza Marketplace at Bumby Avenue and Colonial Drive.

The shopping center is owned by Weingarten Real Estate Inc. of Houston and is in a hot retail development area. Barnes & Noble and a host of national retailers lead the tenant roll at Colonial Plaza.

Area brokers had projected the June auction would bring at least $100,000 per acre or $2.30 per sf for the property, previously owned by Anthony and Virginia Ballestero. The buyers kept their purchase a secret until they were ready to produce the musical and sought media exposure, brokers tell GlobeSt.com.

Bob Koch, an Orlando homebuilder and managing partner of Salthouse, couldn't be reached at GlobeSt.com's publication deadline to learn the estimated renovations cost.