Pebb Capital and Sabal Investment Holdings bought The Press, an office and retail complex in West Palm Beach.
Miami-based Tricera Capital sold the complex at 2751 South Dixie Highway in an off-market deal to Boca Raton-based Pebb and Irvine, California-based Sabal, according to the buyers’ news release.
Tricera and a spokesperson for Pebb and Sabal declined to disclose the price. A source familiar with the deal said it was about $60 million, which Pebb and Sabal’s spokesperson disputed, but declined to provide more details. A purchase record viewed by The Real Deal shows Pebb and Sabal paid $70.2 million, while Tricera is receiving about $60 million. The difference is likely due to closing costs the buyers paid.
The source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said that the buyers are expected to pay another $7 million if a 3.7-acre vacant parcel included in the purchase is rezoned for development. The lot is at 501 Monceaux Road, according to records.
As a whole, the buyers are spending nearly $80 million on the purchase and capital improvements, according to their release. They plan renovations to the office building’s common areas, landscape and hardscape, as well as completion of spec office suites. The work is aimed at attracting more tenants.
The Press complex, a redevelopment of Palm Beach Post’s former campus, is now roughly 70 percent occupied. The complex spans nearly 257,000 square feet, according to the release.
Tricera, led by CEO Ben Mandell, bought the 11.6-acre property in 2019 for $24 million. In 2021, it scored a $50.8 million refinancing and construction loan from Monroe Capital for the project.
Tricera retrofitted the printing press and distribution facility into retail, called Shops at The Press, and the office building that was already on the site into Workspaces at The Press.
Tenants include Amped Fitness, which leased 35,900 square feet in 2022. Other tenants include Palm Beach Atlantic University, retail anchor Joseph’s Classic Market, Pink Steak, Starbucks, Restore and Tremble Pilates. The Palm Beach Post also kept its office at the complex.
Sabal, which provides investment management services to institutional investors, is led by CEO Pat Jackson.
Pebb is led by managing principal Todd Rosenberg. In December, it landed a $173 million construction loan for its mixed-use Sundy Village project, consisting of the development of 180,000 square feet of offices and more than 28,000 square feet of retail on the southwest corner of West Atlantic and South Swinton avenues in Delray Beach. Pebb will preserve and restore six historic homes, repurposing them as retail.
Tricera has seized on some of the distress in South Florida, which is generally caused by elevated interest rates, skyrocketing insurance premiums and economic uncertainty. This month, the firm, along with investors Scott Robins and Philip Levine, bought the half vacant retail building at 318-334 Lincoln Road in Miami Beach for $13.6 million. The seller, Aby Rosen’s RFR Realty had paid $20.5 million for the property in 2019, and was hit with a foreclosure lawsuit in January.
