Phoenix Realty Group closes 553,000sf lease

JACKSONVILLE - Grubb and Ellis|Phoenix Realty Group announced the lease of 553,151sf to Football Fanatics at 5233 Commonwealth Ave., Jacksonville. Bryan Bartlett, SIOR, and John Richardson, SIOR, represented the landlord, First Winthrop. Guy Preston of Colliers Dickinson represented the tenant.

Taylor Morrison buys 425 home sites

ST. AUGUSTINE - Taylor Morrison has acquired 425 home sites at Las Calinas, on US 1 near Palencia at International Golf Parkway (Nine Mile Road) four miles south of CR 210 in St. Augustine.

The homebuilder was expected to start development of new phases at Las Calinas in January.

Presales of new three-, four- and five-bedroom single-family homes priced from the $150,000s are expected start in March, according to the company.

New homes at Las Calinas will range in size from 1,442sf of living space to 3,284sf.

C&W closes 20,000sf in deals

JACKSONVILLE - The Cushman & Wakefield Jacksonville office team led by Senior Directors of Office Brokerage Bob Retherford and Buddy Register, together with office specialist Erika Bjork, announced nine lease transactions.

The Cushman & Wakefield office brokerage team represented the tenant in three deals and represented the landlord in six of the nine transactions.

- Gresham Smith and Partners renewed its lease for approximately 9,500sf in the Concourse I building on Belfort Road. Cushman & Wakefield represented the tenant.

Regency to help with Green Retail Guide

JACKSONVILLE - Regency Centers has been selected as a project consultant to create the new Green Retail Guide: Integrating LEED into your Leasing Process by the U.S. Green Building Council.

This new resource is expected to support USGBC’s strategic work in the retail sector and will complement the LEED for Retail rating system by providing a practical resource that helps integrate Green thinking into the way that retail space is selected, leased, built-out and occupied.

St. Joe signs CBRE to market West Bay land

PANAMA CITY - The St. Joe Company has entered into an agreement with CB Richard Ellis Group Inc. to market for sale or lease more than 1,000 acres of St. Joe's land adjacent to the new Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport for commercial development. The airport is scheduled to open May 23.

Home sales rising in Northeast Florida

JACKSONVILLE - The passing of the homebuyer tax credit’s initial expiration date didn’t slow the urgency of home buyers in the Northeast Florida region, as November saw a continuation of the strong sales activity we’ve seen in previous months, according to the November 2009 report of the Northeast Florida Association of Realtors.

Closed sales were up a hefty 48.9% over November 2008, with 1,184 this year versus last year’s 795. Additionally, there were 1,343 signed purchase agreements (pending sales) during the month, up a strong 59.1% from a year ago.

WRH wraps 2009 toy drive

JACKSONVILLE - WRH Realty Services recently completed its 2009 “Gift of Giving” toy drive. As part of the third annual event, every WRH apartment community throughout the Southeast was a designated toy drop off location up until the second week of December. All of the toys collected were donated to local charities. Over the past three years, due to the support of residents, local businesses, community members and WRH team members, WRH has donated more than 1,500 toys to local charities.

Regency Centers, ICSC create Fiala Fellowship

JACKSONVILLE - The International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) Foundation and Regency Centers Corp. announced the launch of the ICSC Foundation Mary Lou Fiala Fellowship. The Fellowship combines mentoring, education, networking and speaking engagements to create an endowment in the retail real estate industry.

Sterling Resorts buys Beach Rentals

PANAMA CITY BEACH - Sterling Resorts has taken a major step in its aggressive growth plan with the acquisition of Beach Rentals of South Walton, featuring more than 200 properties along scenic 30-A between Destin and Panama City Beach.

Under the agreement, Beach Rentals of South Walton will keep its name and focus on residences along 30-A, but will benefit from Sterling’s infrastructure. Sterling will improve Web site services with user-friendly features currently under development for SterlingResorts.com and will now also offer real estate sales services.

Panama City airport gets runway approvals

PANAMA CITY - The Panama City-Bay County International Airport and Industrial District recently announced it has received all the necessary approvals and permits to move forward on the extension of the primary runway at the new Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport.

The Federal Aviation Administration and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers both signed off on the 1,600-foot extension, which will bring the length of the primary runway to 10,000 feet.