A Los Angeles-based investment firm paid a high-octane premium for a gas station and convenience store in Broward County.
An affiliate of First Financial Capital bought the Mobil at 16961 Miramar Parkway in Miramar for $28.8 million, according to Vizzda and records. The buyer obtained a $20.1 million mortgage from Bank of Hope, also based in Los Angeles.
The seller, an affiliate of Dallas-based Crow Holdings, led by CEO Michael Levy, paid $9.5 million for the 1.9-acre site in 2019, records show. Spanning more than 7,000 square feet, the one-story retail building and the fuel pumps were completed in 2015.
Adjacent to a Target and a Winn-Dixie, the Mobil gas station is charging $3.50 for a gallon of regular gas, according to GasBuddy.com
Led by principal and founder Michael Saei, First Financial’s primary business is providing commercial real estate bridge loans, specializing in service station and hospitality properties, according to its website. First Financial also offers accredited investors opportunities in commercial real estate that the firm owns nationwide.
The past two years, Saei has been collecting gas stations in Broward and Palm Beach counties, paying a total of $34.8 million for five such properties in Fort Lauderdale, Boca Raton, Deerfield Beach and West Palm Beach, records show.
Out-of-town investors are willing to pay top dollar for gas stations in the tri-county region. In August, Boynton Beach-based Trinity Petro paid $12 million for a Hialeah service station, then immediately flipped the property for a $3.7 million gain. Orem, Utah-based Harris Investment Group paid $15.7 million for it.
Last year, Trinity Petro bought four gas stations in Miami-Dade County for roughly $11 million, and flipped the properties the same day for a $4 million gain. Ernest M. Cherry Jr. and his wife, Carole, of Hampton Falls, New Hampshire, paid $15 million for the stations.