New Jersey investors buy College Plaza shopping center

The time it took to sell the College Plaza shopping center in south Fort Myers was officially 64 days. But it really only took one day for real estate broker Jim Shiebler of CBRE commercial real estate firm to reach a handshake agreement between buyer and seller. 

College Plaza, at the northwest corner of College Parkway and U.S. 41, sold Aug. 27 for $14.6 million, almost 4% less than the June 4 listed price of $15.2 million. It includes 56,386 square feet of space.

Pet Supermarket, Ada’s Natural Market, West Marine, Five Guys, Tijuana Flats and Good Feet Store will continue operating as normal under their leases. Those stores will have a new landlord in College Plaza Center LLC, a company owned by Frank Storino and family, who are based in New Jersey, where they also own Jenkinson’s Boardwalk at Point Pleasant Beach. 

“After thorough examinations of numerous Florida shopping centers over the past several years, we strongly believe that College Plaza has the winning formula for long-term stability and success,” Storino said in an email. “The sellers provided a level of transparency and genuine assistance through our underwriting process, which proved to be invaluable in delivering a win-win for both parties. 

“The combination of the unrivaled trophy location, highly attractive aesthetic design, strong corporate and nationally recognized tenants with lengthy lease histories, long future terms and below-market rents ensure the stability of this investment for decades to come.” 

Storino bought the shopping center from a group of Fort Myers investors that included Mike Devito and Dan Creighton, whose company develops 7-Eleven convenience stores and other shopping centers. 

College Venture 1 LLC was the corporate name of the seller. It paid $3.9 million in 2010, meaning the property grew in value over the past 14 years by 274%. 

“Dan and I purchased College Plaza and four additional properties coming out of the Great Financial Crisis that we developed into Class A commercial properties,” Devito wrote in an email. 

Shiebler called College Plaza a generational trophy location. With an average daily traffic count of 109,000 vehicles per day, it’s one of the busiest intersections in Southwest Florida. 

“It is a gem of a location,” Shiebler said. “This is a long-term play. There are long-term leases in place. And the average lease term for the current six tenants is almost 12 years. You also have below-average rents. So, it’s very sustainable. So, if there was a challenge with one of these tenants in the distant future, they’re easily replaceable.” 

Shiebler said a handful of potential buyers made themselves known just as the property went to market. But he had no idea he would have an agreement within a day and a closing in less than three months. 

“It worked out quite fortuitously,” Shiebler said. “And again, the buyer and the seller, they really get credit for this consummation of closing, because of their honorable dealings, their transparency and their genuine assistance to each other to create the ultimate win-win.”