Publix pays $10M for site of new Fort Lauderdale supermarket

Publix is advancing its plan for a new store in Fort Lauderdale’s Lauderdale Beach neighborhood, buying the development site for $10 million.

Deed records show Publix bought 1.4 acres of mostly parking lots and an existing retail building at 2985 North Ocean Boulevard in two separate purchases.

In one deal, Publix bought 0.9 acres consisting of two adjacent parking lots and a retail building from Preste Corp., for $7 million. Preste Corp. acquired part of the property in 1969 for $80,000, and the other part in 1975 for $100,000, according to property records.

In the second deal, Publix bought the remaining half-acre, consisting of parking lots, from Royal Quality Homes of Florida and Ocean Reef Investments, for $3 million. Ocean Reef Investments bought the parking lot in April 2015 for $600,000, and then in June 2016 sold half of the ownership interest to Royal Quality Homes of Florida, according to deeds.

Lakeland-based Publix, whose CEO is Todd Jones and president is Kevin Murphy, revealed it plans to build a 29,000-square-foot store with rooftop parking during a rezoning hearing in November. The Fort Lauderdale commission at the time unanimously approved rezoning part of the property from “Residential Multifamily High Rise/High Density” to “Community Business District.”

The store is expected to open at the end of 2022.

Seller Preste Corp. is affiliated with Fort Lauderdale internist Dr. Paul G. Preste, who ran for Boca Raton city council in 2018. Ocean Reef Investments is an affiliate of the Karam Brothers development and architecture firm in Fort Lauderdale, and Royal Quality Homes of Florida is tied to Florida Quality Truss general manager Tolga Adak.

Nearby, other grocery stores include a Publix at 3400 North Federal Highway west of the site, across the Oakland Park Boulevard bridge; and a Winn-Dixie less than a mile north of the development site.

Publix is in expansion mode. It also plans a 30,000-square-foot supermarket with a boat dock in Hollywood at 3100 South Ocean Drive. It will be Publix’s second location with a boat dock in Florida, after one on the west coast.

RK Centers, led by Miami minority owner Raanan Katz, in March bought the Publix-anchored Veranda Shoppes in Plantation for $17 million.