IRVINE, Calif.– Faris Lee Investments, a leading retail advisory and investment sales firm, has completed the $5.7 million sale of ULTA & Shops at Viera, a newly constructed, 14,410-square-foot free-standing retail property near Orlando, FL. The property is fully occupied by ULTA, Hair Cuttery, and Subway. This transaction marks the third phase in a multi-phase pre-sale/break-up strategy that Faris Lee has completed on the developer’s behalf for this lifestyle center development, which will total 100,000 square feet of retail space upon final build-out.
Matthew Mousavi, Patrick Luther, and Nicholas Coo of Faris Lee Investments represented the seller of the property, a private developer based out of Florida.  The buyer, a San Diego-based private investor who paid all-cash, was represented by Colliers International. The cap rate was 6.55 percent, a record low for a pre-sale shops property in the state of Florida according to CoStar records.
The pre-sale strategy allowed the developer to have a non-contingent buyer in place prior to completion. Also, Faris Lee was able to procure the buyer at an aggressive cap rate that was 100 to 150 basis points lower than the nearest comparable sales, resulting in no pricing discount to the buyer for the pre-sale. The break-up strategy allowed the developer to maximize the sale price of the property by selling it in pieces.
“Faris Lee’s marketing strategy highlighted the master-planned community of Viera to out-of-state investors, particularly those from Southern California that are familiar with the intrinsic value and high barriers to entry of master-planned communities like Viera,” said Mousavi. “Additionally, Faris Lee used sale comparables in Southern California and South Florida to justify the lower cap rate achieved on the transaction.”
Mousavi added that the buyer was attracted to the property's location, tenant line up, and quality of construction.
With this pre-sale strategy, the firm was able to generate multiple competing offers from a wide range of buyers prior to completion of construction on the property, in addition to delivering certainty of execution to the developer by locking in the buyer with non-refundable monies in place. Once construction was completed and the tenants opened for business, escrow immediately closed, offering a seamless transaction for the developer.
Situated on 1.68 acres, the ULTA & Shops @ Viera is located on the southeast corner of Lake Andrews Drive and Harnett Drive, in Melbourne (Viera), Florida. In July 2014, Faris Lee completed the $10 pre-sale/break-up of a TJ Maxx/HomeGoods asset located adjacent to ULTA.  In 2013, Faris Lee completed a $6.1 million sale of a property occupied by Total Wine & More within the same center.
The property is ideally positioned within a master-planned community that is situated just outside of Orlando. It is adjacent to the 525,000-square-foot Avenue Viera shopping center, which includes Sports Authority, Kohl’s and Michaels, and is near the 336,000-square-foot Shoppes at Lake Andres shopping center which is anchored by WalMart Supercenter. Nearby retailers include Target, Petco, Pier One, Hobby Lobby, Ross Dress for Less, Old Navy, and others.
About Faris Lee Investments: Faris Lee Investments is a leading retail advisory and investment sales firm.  The company’s high-level retail investment advisors and sophisticated financing experts develop forward-thinking strategies for all retail acquisitions and dispositions and guide clients through complex transactions. Cumulatively, Faris Lee’s leadership has been involved in more than $20 billion of transactions. Faris Lee's senior advisors are skilled in disposition and acquisition strategies, asset positioning and valuation, marketing, debt and equity structuring, strategic workout and REO solutions and execution. For more information, visit www.farislee.com.