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Week of October 6, 2005 |
Investors purchase two landmark Grove office buildings By Marilyn BowdenTwo landmark Coconut Grove office properties, Grand Bay Plaza and Continental Plaza, have changed hands. Grand Bay Plaza, 2665 S. Bayshore Drive, sold for $41 million, or $250 a square foot, to an investor group headed by Vivian Z. Dimond of Avatar Realty. The 164,000-square-foot building will be converted to office condominiums of 3,000-5,000 square feet, Ms. Dimond said. "We have a lot of potentials buyers," she said, "some for their own use and some for investment." Ms. Dimond estimated conversion would take about 18 months. "We intend to do a lot of upgrades and improvements," she said. She said she is managing partner of investor group Grand Bay Grove LLC, which is composed of US investors, most based in Florida. The seller was partnership Grand Bay Associates LLC. In a separate transaction, Continental Plaza, 3250 Mary St., was sold this week for $16.3 million to an investment firm in Boston. The price translates to $191.76 a square foot. WBP Miami Acquisitions sold the 85,000-square-foot building to Realty Associates Advisors, which also does business as TA Associates Realty. Michael Fay, president of Colliers Abood Wood-Fay, which brokered the deal, said Continental Plaza is about 90% occupied. He said his company has been retained by Realty Associates Advisors to handle leasing for the brick-red building, long considered a landmark. The prices for both properties are significantly above the current average selling price of $157 a square foot quoted in CB Richard Ellis South Florida's recent Market Outlook 2006. That figure represented a $26 jump over 2004 prices. According to the report, office investment sales for the first six months of 2005 showed a 42% increase from the same period in 2004. |
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