Small-Building Sales Surge as Tenants Become Owners

"The small-building market is red hot," Michael Heidrich, vice president of NAI/Realvest Partners Inc., tells GlobeSt.com. "I think a lot of tenants are taking advantage of record low interest rates and becoming owners, and with the anticipated hike in interest rates, buyers are jumping to get their deals done before the rates increase."

One such deal Heidrich and Realvest associate Sean DuPree completed was the $595,000 sale of a 32-year-old, 10,500-sf block and metal structure at 3005 Hansrob Road, west of Downtown in the Silver Star/John Young Parkway submarket. Heidrich and DuPree negotiated the deal for Jeff Adams, owner of Olympic Design, also known as Two Bears Inc. Ron Mull of Brown Harris Stevens Real Estate in Winter Park, FL. represented the seller.

Adams paid Richard Edenfeld of Edenfeld Sales Co. Inc. about $56.67 per sf for the vacant building which sits on three-quarters of an acre. The deal was done at this time because Olympic Design had "outgrown their old space," Heidrich says. The new owner will use the building to manufacture architectural plaster moldings. Buyer and seller are based in Orlando.

In other small-building sales, Eric and Lynette Long purchased two industrial buildings totaling 5,600 sf at 2127 W. Pine St., west of Downtown, for $340,000 or $60.71 per sf. Mark Ellenburg was the seller. The participating brokers were Tim Spencer of Coldwell Banker Commercial NRT and Scott Atkins of Atkins Realty of Orlando.

In the University of Central Florida submarket, Haun System Repairs bought an 8,000-sf industrial building from HX Inc. at 4128 Roush Ave. four $495,000 or about $61.88 per sf. Bo Bradford and Tom McFadden of Advantis Real Estate Services Co. negotiated for the seller.

At Orlando Central Park, GSAT Holdings LLC paid Estee Investments Inc. $610,000, or about $79.63 per sf, for a 7,660-sf office building at 7315 Lake Ellinor Dr. Cindy Duke of Carter & Associates brokered the sale.

And at 808 N. John St. in Orlando, Colonial Property Investment LLC picked up at 2,286-sf office building for $260,000 or $113.74 per sf. The sellers were Estela Clotilde-Menna, Maximilliano Menna and John Menna. Jeffrey Bloom of Coldwell Banker Commercial NRT handled the deal.