GlobeSt.com
Commercial Real Estate News and Property Resource

September 27, 2005

Taurus Sells Out First Office Condo Conversion in Maitland

By Alex Finkelstein

MAITLAND, FL-Sticking a for-sale sign in front of its property five months ago and with no other marketing efforts, Taurus Southern Investment, LLC has sold out its 53,000-sf, three-building Maitland Professional Office Village and forged to the front of office condo converters in the 5.5-million-sf Maitland market.

Taurus has closed on the first of 14 contracts and expects to complete the remaining sales by year’s end, Taurus managing partner Jeff K. McFadden tells GlobeSt.com. McFadden, who also heads McFadden Realty Advisors Inc., says Taurus beat out the competition largely because of the property’s location at 610-630 N. Wymore Rd. Maitland is seven miles north of Downtown Orlando.

“The conversion was completed before any competing properties came out of the ground,” McFadden tells GlobeSt.com. “It afforded us the opportunity to be the first professional office condo in Maitland.” He adds, “The demand was there and we sold out very quickly.”

Space was available in increments of 1,100 sf to more than 15,000 sf. Maitland Professional Office Village was previously an office rental property. It has two single-story buildings and one two-story building.

The converted quarters at the seven-year-old property have sold for an average $210 per sf. The sellout total is an estimated $11 million. ADS Telecom, with offices in suburban Lake Mary, Tampa and South Florida, has closed on the first sale, an 8,000-sf office for an estimated $1.68 million. Taurus and ADS declined to disclose the actual contract amount. Tom Kelley, a principal with NAI Realvest, negotiated for ADS.

The decision to convert the former office rental property to office condos was made at this time to take advantage of market conditions, McFadden tells Globest.com. “With interest rates being low, ownership for many small businesses, such as law firms, CPA firms and title insurance companies is more attractive than renting,” he says.

Taurus, founded in 1976 in Munich, started its US business operations in Pompano Beach in 1979. “While previously focusing on German capital, since 2001 Taurus has become a trusted partner for US investors, while expanding its access to capital in many parts of the world,” McFadden says.

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