ORLANDO-The Oak Brook, IL-based REIT paid Melbourne Shopping Centers Inc. $9.77 million or $46.70 per sf for the 209,217-sf, 96%-leased, 42-year-old Melbourne Shopping Center 1 1/2 miles from Melbourne International Airport.

MIAMI-Winn-Dixie Stores Inc. of Jacksonville, FL is taking 44,000 sf for 20 years at the 75,000-sf, $9.4 million retail venture in Broward County, scheduled to break ground in June and be completed by summer 2003.

ORLANDO-The south Lake County city of 16,750 permanent residents, best known for its citrus groves and cattle ranches, expects the 92,000-sf Galleria venture to offer 45,000 sf of office, 24,000 sf of retail, 13,800 sf of restaurants and about 9,000 sf of residential lofts.

ORLANDO-Court-appointed trustee Bill Cuthill Jr. is suing 76 individuals and corporations to recover $8.1 million in the 17-month-old fraud investigation of a defunct local firm that allegedly fleeced 2,203 investors out of a total $214 million in unregistered mortgage-backed securities.

ATLANTA-The former senior director and regional vice president/development at the Silver Springs, MD-based company will be regional director of midscale franchise operations for the northwestern United States.

MIAMI-The New York-based multifamily investor is providing $9.6 million of equity investment for the tax credits generated by the Oaks at Omni, a 300-unit affordable housing complex under construction at Fort Myers, FL, 180 miles northwest of Downtown Miami.

ATLANTA-The New York-based apartment project lender is making a $9.9 million equity investment for tax credits generated by the 324-unit, 14-building Oaks at Brandlewood complex in Savannah, GA. Charter Mac, a Related company, is providing $13.9 million through a bond purchase.

ATLANTA-The leasing director for the Chicago-based company's Central Florida properties moves to Atlanta where he and his team will oversee nine million sf of office space, in addition to covering Tampa and Orlando properties.