Longtime Winter Park investor James Veigle is letting go of real estate assets he’s owned for decades along one of the city’s busiest and most prominent roadways.
First, Veigle sold the five-story, multi-tenant Regions Bank office complex located at 1245 W. Fairbanks Ave. for $7.9 million.
Next, he’ll be putting a vacant 5-acre stretch at the southeast corner of Fairbanks and I-4 on the market, according to Scott Taylor, the owner of Florida Premier Realty Group who’s working as Veigle’s broker.
Although not yet for sale, the land, which is zoned for commercial usage, has already garnered interest from several developers, many of whom want to build multifamily housing on the site. City leaders, meanwhile, have been discussing development opportunities for this area for years.
The property was at one time under contract by a developer to take over, but it’s not anymore, Veigle said.
“That is prime real estate,” Taylor told GrowthSpotter. “You won’t find anything in or near the city of Winter Park that large. The city has very specific requirements and desires that they want to see for that property because they consider it a gateway from I-4 into Winter Park. We’ve been in discussion with a couple of different multifamily groups…That is probably, on the front of the property (on Fairbanks) going to be restaurants or medical use and then the acreage in the back is probably going to go multifamily.”
Although he’s been active as an investor in the Winter Park area since the early 1980’s, Veigle has owned a cluster of parcels near the I-4 interchange since 1995, according to deed records. Taylor expects it to hit the market early next year.
Veigle has controlled the Regions Bank property since 2007 when he acquired it for $3.6 million from James And Phyllis Adams Family Partnership Ltd.
“It is probably one of the more recognizable landmark buildings in Winter Park,” Taylor said. “It’s certainly a trophy location.”
An entity affiliated with Anil Sant of Orlando bought it from Veigle on Dec. 13. Entities controlled by Sant own several parcels throughout Orange County, including vacant land in Horizon West and Winter Garden, according to deed records. As president of StarChild Academy, he also runs several preschool locations locally as well as a private elementary school.
Jessica Fleming, a senior vice president with Milennia Partners, represented Sant on the Regions Bank deal. She said the Regions Bank building will continue to be used as an office complex.
The location played a vital role in the sale. Taylor said that if this were anywhere else, it likely wouldn’t have scored a taker for the nearly $8 million asking price — especially post-pandemic when there is less demand for office space.
More firms are downsizing or not renewing their expiring leases, so vacancy rates are slowly starting to rise, according to the 2023 Emerging Trends in Real Estate report by the Urban Land Institute.
“Covid changed the office dynamic, there’s no question,” Taylor said. “It’s very rare for a building that’s strictly an office building to sell for $8 million. That’s a big number. The reason it was a big number is because of the Winter Park location, the design of the building, the finishes, the tenant base, and the tenant history. You have tenants that have been in there for a long time.”
Regions Bank has anchored the complex for nearly 35 years, Taylor said. Other tenants include the Pediatric Neurology And Epilepsy Center Of Florida and World of Art.
Source2, a technology company that previously occupied space on the building’s fourth floor, moved out when its lease expired this year. The company’s departure left behind roughly 4,500 square feet of leasable space for a single tenant or multiple users.
“The new owner will be taking that to the market in several weeks,” Taylor said. “I think there are 42 work-stations up there, there’s an executive suite, and I think there are probably four or five other offices. It’s a very modern space.”
The office sector in the Greater Orlando market has a current vacancy rate of 12.4 %, according to a report by JLL that reflects the third quarter of 2022.
But almost 650,000 square feet of new office space is under development in the region.
“While Lake Nona and downtown saw positive absorption, this did not offset the multiple large move-outs that took place in the Tourist Corridor, Lake Mary, Maitland and 436 Corridor submarkets,” the report says. “Pending move-ins for the end of this year and into early next year, however, suggest the market will continue to slowly recover.”
The report adds, “As the economy recovers and confidence in the market improves, Orlando’s abundance of high-quality spaces and affordable cost of living should prove attractive to those returning to the office or relocating to the area.”
Have a tip about Central Florida development? Contact me at (407)-800-1161 or dwyatt@GrowthSpotter.com, or tweet me at @DustinWyattGS. Follow GrowthSpotter on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
