Consolidated Tomoka(CTO) announced two recently completed transactions, the first under the leadership of CEO John Albright. The first transaction completed the repurchase of land that had been sold to Halifax Hospital Medical Center in 2003 but never developed. The company entered into an agreement with Halifax in 2009 to repurchase 33 acres over 4 years, but purchased the final 17 acres a year early for $3,245,537 saving $75,000 by doing so. The price paid represented the original sales price to Halifax, excluding the $75,000 discount.
At the same time, the company sold an 18,150 square foot building in Lakeland, FL that was formerly leased to Barnes & Noble for $2.9 million. The building was carried at the original 2001 purchase price of $3.1265 million together with $471,500 in accumulated depreciation. Albright noted in the press release that the company intends to use the proceeds in a 1031 exchange purchase. Given that, the property to be purchased must be identified by mid-February and must close in the first half of the year.
After several years of inactivity in a difficult real estate market, it’s exciting to see the company begin to move to take advantage of opportunities. The advantage of the company’s strong balance sheet is that it can afford to wait out bad times and buy and sell from strength.
Disclosure: The author owns shares in CTO
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