The Ohio developer is reentering the Florida market with Big Lots-anchored center as part of a new focus on value-added acquisitions.

Retail real estate developer and investor Stanbery Development Group is returning to Florida, acquiring Park & Starkey Plaza, a 63,000-square foot neighborhood center at 7600 Starkey Road in Seminole, Florida, for $5.24 million.

The neighborhood center marks Stanbery's first project in the state since developing The Promenade at Coconut Creek in Broward County in the 2000s, and selling it in 2011. Park & Starkey Plaza also marks a new direction for the lifestyle center developer and investor, said P. Jon Meyer, partner, investments at Stanbery.  

"Not only is this our first center in western Florida, it is a different type of property than most in the industry identify with Stanbery," Meyer said. "This new chapter for the project also marks a new chapter for our company."

Anchored by Big Lots, Park & Starkey Plaza is 88% leased. The company is looking at various possibilities for redeveloping the property, which is located at the intersection of Routes 1 and 646. Approximately 80,000 vehicles pass the project daily. Mackinley Autrey of The Outlier Group represented the seller, Park Center LLC.

"Pinellas County boasts extremely high density, with continued population and income growth," Meyer observed. "This makes Park & Starkey Plaza ripe for redevelopment and retenanting to serve these new shoppers."

With a long history in ground-up development, Stanbery is now looking to acquire anchored or non-anchored neighborhood centers, power centers and lifestyle projects of at least 50,000 square feet, where the team can bring its experience to enhance property value over a period of three to seven years. The company is looking in core, secondary and selected tertiary markets in the eastern half of the United States, including the Mid-Atlantic states, with a focus on Florida.  

Development, however, remains a focus. Stanbery's newest project, the District at 15fifteen in Parsippany, New Jersey, is creating a new downtown for Morris County, with dining, services, retail and apartments close to major corporate parks.

"Our team has more than 100 years of combined experience in creating places where people want to be and to shop," Meyer said. "We're looking forward to bringing our ideas to Park & Starkey and to future opportunities where we can add value."