Palmetto Escapes Foreclosure, Scores Walmart Lease

MIAMI—In the eleventh hour, just before the bank foreclosed, the owners of Palmetto Gardens Plaza found a new lease on life. Palmetto Design Center reached a mutually agreeable settlement with PNC Bank on the 7.1-acre site at 3799 Northwest 167th Street in Miami Gardens.

But that's not where the story ends. Palmetto also secured a new $4.5 million loan with Hudson Financial Services, which contributed to funding the settlement. Palmetto also signed a lease with Walmart for a Neighborhood Market Store as its anchor tenant.

“Through tough times sometimes arise unique opportunities,” says Alan S. Macken, a principal of Palmetto. “In this case, we found higher and better uses for the property. With a Walmart Neighborhood Market offering groceries and pharmaceuticals, we benefit from their unique business model and do not suffer from the myriad of exclusions that full-scale supercenters often include.  As such, we can pursue a larger tenant pool, thereby offering a greater variety retail opportunities to the surrounding area.”   

Here's the backstory: In January of 2010, PNC filed a foreclosure action against the property's owners. Ravi Batta from Rosenfeld Stein Batta, P.A. and the law firm of Michael L Feinstein, P.A. represented Palmetto during the litigation and final settlement negotiations. 

The site, which fronts the Palmetto Expressway at Douglas Road in Miami Gardens, will include a 63,000 square-foot shopping center. Walmart will occupy 41,000 square feet. Walmart will bring about 90 jobs as well as access to affordable groceries to the Miami Gardens neighborhood.

Developers plan to offer an additional 20,000 square feet of space available for rent. With 170,000 vehicles driving by each day, and the Walmart presence, the future looks bright for Palmetto.

“We never lost sight or appreciation for the fact that we had an incredibly valuable piece of property,” says Zvi Shiff, a principal at Palmetto. “We are confident that this new plaza will invigorate its surroundings, and serve as a destination for both the city's residents and its surrounding neighbors.”

David Larson from Newmark Grubb Knight Frank assisted in securing the financing from Hudson. Richard Schermer of Pathman Lewis, LLP served as legal counsel during the lease negotiations and assisted in the final closing of the loan.