Orlando’s exploding population could boost retail investor demand

ORLANDO, Sept. 7, 2021 – JLL Capital Markets announced today that it has closed the $30.5 million sale of Plaza Ecco, a new, fully leased, 57,747-square-foot neighborhood shopping center anchored by Publix near downtown Orlando, Florida, signaling increased investor appetite for high-performing grocery-anchored retail in Central Florida.

JLL marketed the property on behalf of the seller, a partnership between Orlando-based Intram Investments, Inc. and BluRock Commercial Real Estate. A private investor acquired the asset.

Constructed between 2019 and 2021, the 100-percent-leased Plaza Ecco is anchored by Publix, the No. 1 grocer by market share in Florida, which is on a rare, long-term ground lease. Outparcel pads occupied by Starbucks, Twistee Treat and PDQ act as additional anchors, driving traffic to the center and promoting cross traffic. The center also houses an impressive and diverse list of national and local tenants, including Club Pilates, Woof Gang Bakery, Pacific Dental, Jersey Mike’s Subs, Sports Clips, Mooyah Burgers, SoDo Nails and more.

Plaza Ecco is situated on eight acres at 3107 S. Orange Ave. in an ideal location two miles south of downtown Orlando. The retail center is at a signalized intersection along South Orange Avenue, which provides visibility to more than 38,100 vehicles per day. Additionally, the property is adjacent to a new institutional-quality luxury multi-housing complex and in an affluent area that includes 133,912 residents within a three-mile radius earning an average annual household income of $71,990.

The JLL Capital Markets team that represented the seller was led by Senior Managing Director Brad Peterson, Senior Director Whitaker Leonhardt, Director Michael Brewster and Associate Tommy Isola.

“This was what I would call a ‘best-of-the-best’ retail center because of the infill, high barriers-to-entry, location proximate to downtown Orlando combined with its long-term lease with Publix and included outparcels,” Peterson said. “As a result, it is no surprise that it commanded an extraordinary level of interest and pricing from the investment community.”

Despite the pandemic, the Orlando MSA is one of the fastest-growing Metro areas in the nation, gaining nearly 61,000 new residents in 2020. This growth provides new investment and development opportunities to support the exploding population anticipated to exceed 2.9 million residents by 2025. Couple that with Orlando’s massive tourist draw, and it’s clear why Roofstock put Orlando on its list of U.S. cities that support long-term, stable economic growth.

“Orlando continues to be one of the fastest-growing Metro areas in the U.S., and there was no slowing down with COVID,” Leonhardt added. “In fact, 2020 was the second-best year for in-migration over the past decade for our city. The long-term success of our economy, combined with a very exciting outlook, has kept Orlando at the top of the list for many national retail investors.”

JLL Capital Markets is a full-service global provider of capital solutions for real estate investors and occupiers. The firm's in-depth local market and global investor knowledge delivers the best-in-class solutions for clients — whether investment sales and advisory, debt advisory, equity advisory or a recapitalization. The firm has more than 3,000 Capital Markets specialists worldwide with offices in nearly 50 countries.

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