Boynton retail center with a Publix draws $47.3M bid

A real estate fund submitted the winning bid of $47.3 million in the bankruptcy auction of a Boynton Beach shopping center anchored by a Publix supermarket.

DRA Fund IX LLC bid $254 per square foot on Wednesday for the 186,000-square-foot Fountains of Boynton shopping center at the intersection of Jog Road and Boynton Beach Boulevard.

The fund expects to close the purchase this month if the bankruptcy judge approves the deal.

The owner of the Fountains of Boynton, a company linked to developer John B. Kennelly, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy last year. The company defaulted on a mortgage loan with a $50 million balance. Kennelly built the Fountains of Boynton and opened the shopping center in 1994.

Another company linked to Kennelly sold eight South Florida properties in December to repay creditors in a bankruptcy case. The eight properties in Palm Beach County and Broward County included a waterfront parcel on Hillsboro Mile in Hillsboro Beach measuring 11 acres, plus two adjacent lots.

David Restainer, a managing director of commercial real estate at brokerage firm Douglas Elliman, told the Sun-Sentinel that investors covet shopping centers anchored by Publix because they regard the Lakeland-based company as one of the best supermarket operators in the nation and “the rent is reliable.” [Sun-Sentinel] – Mike Seemuth