What a difference a year makes. Last year, the top five commercial real estate sales during the period July 2006 through July 2007 totaled $183.6 million. This year, when we searched through records at the Sarasota and Manatee county property appraisers’ offices and talked to local brokers, we discovered that the top five sales during the same period totaled $111.7 million. That’s a drop of almost $72 million.

All five deals we found occurred in the latter half of 2007. In the first six months of this year, those big eight-figure and high seven-figure transactions were noticeably absent. The biggest transaction by far was the $57 million PalmerCrossingShopping Center sale, the culmination of years of strategic planning by developer William Saba. Perhaps most indicative of the state of multifamily residential development in the bicounty region over the last year was the ManateeCounty sale of the 210 Watermark apartment complex in Bradenton, which developer Tarragon Corporation sold at 60 percent of its original purchase price after having sunk millions into a planned condominium conversion. Three of the biggest acquisitions were in the leisure and hospitality industry, an indication that tourism and resort sectors are still going strong.

1.

Sale Price: $57 million

Address: 5451 Palmer Crossing, Sarasota (PalmerCrossingShopping Center)

Closing date: Dec. 20, 2007

Seller: Palmer Crossing LLC (owned by Sarasota developers William Saba and Thomas Kelly)

Buyer: Palmer Crossing 1 LLC (owned by Tampa-based commercial investment firm Latt Maxcy Corp.)

Previous sale: $945,000 on Aug. 17, 1998

Broker: N.J. Olivieri, Horizon Mortgage Corp.

The property:  According to Horizon Mortgage Corp.’s N.J. Olivieri, who brokered the $57 million sale, William Saba’s strategy for developing the property served him well. Saba took 36 acres of land at the intersection of

Clark Road

and Honore and divided the property into 13 distinct parcels. Partnering with fellow developer Thomas Kelly, Saba built stable anchor stores like Bealls Department Store and Sweetbay Supermarket on the property and leased 70 percent of the land to national companies like Bank of America, Chik-Fil-A, and Arby’s, which each built their own buildings on the property. “With long-term tenants in place, the developers created a property that was extremely attractive to investors,” Olivieri says

2.

Sale Price: $24 million

Address:

210 Third St. W., Bradenton

(210 Watermark apartment complex)

Closing date: Sept. 10, 2007

Seller: Tarragon Corp. (headquartered in New York)

Buyer:  TA Realty Advisors (based in Boston)

Previous sale: $38 million in 2005

Broker: N.J. Olivieri and Michael Stockton, Horizon Mortgage Corp.

The property: New York-based Tarragon Corp. purchased the 216-unit 210 Watermark apartment complex with the intention of converting the units into condos. Two years and several million dollars in improvements later, Tarragon abandoned its conversion plans and sold the property to Boston-based TA Realty Advisors at 40 percent less than what it originally paid. The new owners are maintaining the property as apartments.  

3.

Sale Price: $11.7 million

Address: 6600 S. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota (Holiday Inn Express)

Closing date: Oct. 16, 2007

Seller: THI IV SARASOTA HIE LLC (owned by Annapolis, Md.-based Thayer Lodging LLC)

Buyer: MPL Lodgings, Inc.

Brokers: John Mayers, Coldwell Banker Hospitality, Fort Lauderdale

Previous sale: $10.6 million on Aug. 15, 2005

The property:  The Holiday Inn Express is a 131-room, limited-service hotel located on U.S. 41 just south of

Stickney Point Road

. According to MPL Lodging’s director of operations Jamie Meade, the property is the closest nationally franchised hotel to Siesta Key. The hotel is one-third of the way through a planned $1.5 million renovation, which includes improvements such as new air conditioning, bedding and landscaping. Future plans include acquiring a beach trolley to transport guests to Siesta Key as well as locations around Sarasota. The hotel is in full operation during renovations.

4.

Sale Price: $10.97 million

Address: 4409 Tournament

Players Club Drive, Sarasota

Closing date: Dec. 20, 2007

Seller: Tournament Players Club at Prestancia, Inc. 

Buyer: Heritage Golf Prestancia, LLC (owned by Heritage Golf Group, San Diego)

Broker: none

Previous sale: $4.17 million on Jan. 29, 1992

The property:  The Tournament Players Club at Prestancia is a private golf club spanning 360 acres, containing two 18-hole golf courses and an expansive 33,000- square-foot clubhouse. According to Heritage executive vice president Andy Crosson, Heritage purchased the club as part of a deal that included the acquisition of a portfolio of TPC PGA Tour golf course properties, including TPC Eagle Trace Golf in Fort Lauderdale, TPCTampaBay in Tampa, TPC Piper Glenn in Charlotte, N.C., and TPC Michigan in Dearborn.  The club is undergoing a $4.5 million renovation that includes a regrassed and rebuilt green and substantial upgrades to the clubhouse.

5.

Sale Price: $8 million

Address:

2600 Harborside Drive, Sarasota

(Longboat Key Club Moorings)

Closing date: Dec. 14, 2007

Seller:  Longboat Key Marina Assoc. Ltd.

Buyer: LFL Marina LLC (owned by the parent company of the Longboat Key Club)

Broker: None

Previous sale: $9.1 million on Oct. 16, 1989 (This sale included multiple parcels, only a portion of which was sold to LFL Marina LLC.)

The property:  According to LBK Club general manager Michael Welly, the Longboat Key Club’s $8 million purchase included 37 of the 291 slips at the Longboat Key Club Moorings, as well as waterfront property known as Parcel P, which contains a building that houses a ship’s store and deli, offices and the newly reopened members-only Portofino Restaurant and Bar. The purchase also included the Commodore Club, a recreational facility for LBK Club members, as well as the marina’s existing marine repair and maintenance business, a marine brokerage company, a slip rental business and two swimming pools.