MMG Equity buys Plantation shopping center for $12M

MMG Equity Partners bought a Plantation retail center for $12 million.

The Pinecrest-based investor bought Plantation Square at 1723-1797 North University Drive. The firm plans $2.4 million in capital improvements, including to the facade, stucco, lighting and landscaping, said Marcos Puente, MMG Equity Partners’ acquisitions director.

Pacific National Bank issued a $10 million acquisition and construction loan, according to a news release.

Plantation Square Limited, managed by Marvin Feinstein, sold the 65,796-square-foot property, after buying it in 2003 for $7.1 million, according to records. The retail center was developed in 1979 on about 0.2 acres.

MMG Equity, led by Gabriel Navarro, is a commercial real estate investor that focuses on shopping centers.

Aside from the planned capital improvements, it also is looking to fill the 21 percent vacancy at Plantation Square. MMG Equity has been in talks with potential tenants, including medical users such as an urgent care center, and restaurants, Puente said.

Current tenants include Al Natour restaurant, Wicked Wings, Soy Salon & Spa and Mia Cake House.

MMG Equity eventually wants to increase rents at the plaza to “just a hair” less than the area market rate of $27 per square foot, he added. Currently, the average at Plantation Square is $18.50 per square foot.

In February 2020, MMG Equity sold the shopping center at 3338 Northeast 7th Street in Homestead for $22.7 million. That came on the heels of the group buying two south Miami-Dade County retail properties, one at 27000-27100 South Dixie Highway and another at 10969 Southwest 40th Street, for $12.7 million.

In another recent Broward County retail deal, Castro Properties, whose partner Bernadette Castro served as a New York State Parks commissioner, sold the fully leased property at 2860 North Federal Highway in Fort Lauderdale for $7 million.