Former NY Parks commissioner sells Fort Lauderdale retail building

An investment group picked up a fully leased Fort Lauderdale retail building for $7 million, the first time the property has changed hands in nearly 40 years. One of the partners in the family firm that sold the property is a former New York state Parks commissioner.

The Aventura-based buyers, led by Sebastian Guejman, acquired the 27,000-square-foot building at 2860 North Federal Highway in an off-market deal. The building was constructed in 1969 on 1.1 acres, property records show.

The seller was an affiliate of Castro Properties of New York.

Jose Sasson of Axiom Capital Advisors represented the buying group, identified as June 36 Properties LLC. Roberto Susi, also of Axiom, represented the seller.

Castro Properties invests in retail, office and industrial real estate in New York, Virginia and Florida. Bernadette Castro, one of its partners, served as commissioner of New York state Parks and Recreation from 1995 to 2006. She bought the property in 1986 for $160,000 then transferred ownership to the Castro Properties affiliate in the early 2000s, according to records.

The one-story building has been leased to Ferguson, which sells bath, kitchen and lighting appliances, for over a decade, Sasson said. He declined to give the remaining lease term.

Guejman has led other groups in South Florida real estate deals. He managed a Delaware company that sold six industrial condos near Miami International Airport to Brookfield Asset Management’s real estate arm for $82.9 million in 2019.

He also controlled the entity that sold a parking lot in North Miami to the Flanigan’s restaurant chain for $2.5 million in 2017. The restaurant has a location there.

Fort Lauderdale has seen several other retail deals in recent months. Publix bought the 1.4-acre development site in the Lauderdale Beach neighborhood for $10 million in April.