Pebb and Tortoise Properties buy Jupiter Innovation Center for $32M

Jupiter’s office market has a 6% vacancy rate

Tortoise Family Office CEO Jake Geleerd, Pebb Enterprises President and CEO Ian Weiner, and Jupiter Innovation Center
Tortoise Family Office CEO Jake Geleerd, Pebb Enterprises President and CEO Ian Weiner, and Jupiter Innovation Center

A joint venture between Pebb Enterprises and Tortoise Properties acquired one of Jupiter’s largest office properties, the Jupiter Innovation Center, for $31.45 million.

The joint venture purchased the 186,238-square-foot building at 1701 Military Trail for $168 per square foot, records show. Poh Jupiter Ownership LLC, which is led by Craig Sternberg of Aventura, sold the property.

Jupiter Innovation Center has a mix of medical, office and research and development tenants and spans 16 acres. Its largest tenant is Florida Turbine Technologies, owned by Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, which occupies more than 64,000 square feet. Jupiter Medical also leases 40,000 square feet at the center. In January, GE Medical Systems moved out, freeing up more than 83,483 square feet of research and office space to lease, according to a release.

The single-story campus is one mile south of the 327-bed Jupiter Medical Center.

The property is also fully entitled for the ground-up development of a 50,000-square-foot, two-story medical and professional office building with a two-level, 175-space structured parking garage, according to the release.

Cushman & Wakefield’s Scott O’Donnell, Michael Ciadella, Dominic Montazemi, Greg Miller and Miguel Alcivar represented the seller in the deal.

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The buyers secured a $30.5 million loan from Rialto Capital Management to acquire the property, according to the release. Jason Hochman of Cushman & Wakefield arranged the financing.

The property last sold for $30.7 million in 2013, records show.

Boca Raton-based Pebb Enterprises focuses on neighborhood, regional and power shopping centers, as well as suburban office buildings. It has properties in Florida, Texas, Nevada and various Midwestern and Southeastern states.

Chicago-based Tortoise Properties is a family office focused on acquiring residential and commercial legacy assets across the U.S.

Jupiter has a tight office market with a 6 percent office vacancy rate and no new construction east of I-95 in the pipeline, according to the release.

This is the second joint venture between Pebb and Tortoise. In June 2017, the companies acquired the ADT headquarters property in Boca Raton for $42 million.

Jupiter, at the northern edge of Palm Beach, is home to some high-end residential developments, including Bear’s Club community, founded by golfer Jack Nicklaus. It has 80 homes, villas and cottages.