With Whole Foods Coming, Adjacent Fort Lauderdale Property Changes Hands
Illuminating the hot market for real estate in Fort Lauderdale, a nondescript former medical building at 1801 South Andrews Ave. has sold for $5.3M.
The buyer's entity, 1801 Associates LLC, is linked to local commercial real estate investor Austin Forman.
Public records show that the sellers were William and Joanna Bratt, individually and as trustees of the Russell I Bratt Trust. Russell I. Bratt sold pumps around the world and died in February, according to an obituary.
The property is two blocks south of Broward Health Medical Center at the corner of Southeast 17th Street and Andrews Avenue. It includes a 15K SF building situated on a 70K SF plot.
Prices have been rapidly appreciating in the area. Just to the east, at the corner of North Federal Highway and Southeast 17th Street, Whole Foods will open in 2020, anchoring an eight-story mixed-use project with 243 apartments by Ram Realty. Hudson Capital had spent $7.5M assembling that site in 2004 and 2005 and sold it to Ram for $18.5M, The Real Deal reported. The 17th Street area, long home to yachting-related businesses, has in recent years seen the influx of restaurants and high-end stores.
Berger Commercial Realty/CORFAC International Senior Vice Presidents St. George Guardabassi and Steve Hyatt facilitated the medical office sale.
“The buyers recognized the investment value of the property due to its size, ease of access to major roadways and close proximity to downtown Fort Lauderdale, Las Olas and the burgeoning 17th Street corridor," Guardabassi said in a statement. "Additionally, the site is located near Fort Lauderdale Beach, Port Everglades, Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood International Airport and several upscale neighborhoods including Harbor Beach and Rio Vista.”
The buyers will lease the existing building as office space for now, according to a statement by Berger. The last time the property traded was in 1989, when the Bratt family acquired it for $1.1M.
