Big-time building buys

South Florida’s commercial real estate market may not be garnering the same headlines as its gangbusters residential market, but businesses are finally gaining confidence in the economy — and office buildings are moving.

Powering a commercial recovery is a coming together of three factors, brokers told The Real Deal: booming home sales, a record number of tourists, and the 33,000 jobs in construction and international trade that will be created by a $2 billion upgrade to the Port of Miami. And the predictions are for even better times from two brokers who handled big sales this year.

“South Florida is increasingly viewed as a global gateway city by institutional investors and demand for investment opportunities remains very strong,” said Danny Finkle of HFF.

CBRE’s Christian Lee agreed, adding: “The commercial real estate market will continue to grow as more people decide to move to Miami. For a lot of buyers, Miami has become the safest city in ‘Latin America.’”

All of the region’s counties — Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach — have seen big deals, as a ranking of the priciest dozen commercial building sales in South Florida this year shows (see chart). Now, a breakdown of the most significant deals in each county, according to Real Capital Analytics:

Miami-Dade

Miami-Dade has had the best year by far dollar-wise, with its seven deals in the top dozen adding up to just shy of $574 million. Of the total, $185 million came from the sale of the Sabadell Financial Center, a 30-story tower in Downtown Miami, also known as 1111 Brickell.

Prudential Real Estate Investors acquired the 523,000-square-foot Class A skyscraper in April from Grupo Vallehermoso, an affiliate of Spanish real estate firm Testa Inmuebles en Renta. Mayer Brown, a global law firm, handled the transaction.

At the time of the buy, Prudential announced that it planned to attract new multinational tenants by making capital improvements to the building. Right now, the property is 85 percent leased and counts financial giant Barclays and Hunton & Williams, an international law firm, among its tenants.

In second place for the county: the $92 million paid for the Miracle Marketplace, a shopping mall just east of Coral Gables. Heitman, a real estate investment firm, bought the 243,047-square-foot retail center 96 percent leased from AWE Talisman JV Keystone Holdings. Handling the sale was the Jones Lang LaSalle team of managing directors Carson Good, Margaret Caldwell, Kris Cooper and Denny St. Romain.

The BAC Colonnade Tower in Coral Gables nailed down third place for the county when TA Realty bought it in June for $81 million. The seller was Deka Immobilien Investment, a German property firm. At the time of the buy, the 205,452-square-foot Class A building was 91 percent leased. Repping TA Realty was Pointe Group Advisors.

Also a standout sale: the $59 million sale of Medley International Business Park, handled by Lee, the vice chairman of CBRE. The buyer: Lincoln Property. The seller: TA Realty. Tenants in the 846,651-square-foot complex include B/E Aeropace, which makes aircraft interiors; Eco Window Systems, a glass manufacturer; and Konie Cups International, which makes disposable cone cups.

Broward

Broward County had only three deals in the top 12, but they added up to more than $279 million. Plus, the biggest commercial deal of the year went down in Broward: the $188 million trade of The Shops at Pembroke Gardens to Jeffrey Anderson Real Estate and an unnamed investor.

Duke Realty, a commercial real estate investment trust, sold the 395,000-square-foot building 90 percent leased. The property is home to some 70 retailers.

An HFF team, including Finkle, a senior managing director, and director Luis Castillo, helped Duke with the sale.

“The retail market has seen tremendous improvement in the past year, with occupancy levels up and landlords increasingly able to push rental rates,” Finkle said. “Several retailers are actively expanding into South Florida…and discussions of new retail development are increasingly prevalent.”

Broward had another $100 million-plus deal that doesn’t show up on any official ranking because the sale price couldn’t be confirmed. O’Connor Capital Partners forked over an estimated $114 million to Westfield America for the Broward Mall.

Palm Beach

Of the Palm Beach County’s two sales on the distinguished dozen list, one was a medical complex and the other a shopping mall.

Ohio-based Health Care REIT ponied up $49.5 million for Bethesda Health City, west of Boynton Beach. The sellers, Investcorp and Flagler Investment, paid $37 million for the hospital and clinic in 2011.

On the retail side: the PGA Plaza Shopping Center sold to C-III Asset Management for more than $37 million in July.

The seller, Palm Beach-based Menin Development, is expanding the property from 114,000 to 120,000 square feet. Marshalls is the anchor.

Palm Beach’s two biggest deals were retail centers — Marketplace of Delray and Mission Bay Plaza — but didn’t make the list because their sale prices couldn’t be confirmed.

Ramco-Gershenson, a REIT, bought both properties from Clarion Partners in March. The estimated value: more than $60 million each.