The past year saw real estate sales for Delaware commercial real estate fall precipitously from sky-high transactions in 2022. It was evidence in part of the impact of higher interest rates and more restrictive lending amid the fight against inflation that tamed business deals over the past 12 months. While 2022 saw seven commercial sales of more than $50 million, this year saw none. Three of the top 10 sales this year are for undeveloped land, the majority of which are slated to become residential communities, underscoring the strength of the First State’s housing market.
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Lakeshore Communities acquired the Bay City Mobile Home Park, its first community in Delaware. | MAP COURTESY OF LAKESHORE COMMUNTIES[/caption]
1. Bay City Mobile Home Park $42M
Buyer: Lakeshore Communities
Seller: Bay City Inc.
The biggest commercial real estate sale of the year in Delaware flew under the radar as the Bay City Mobile Home Park in Millsboro traded hands back in June. Lakeshore Communities, a Florida-based owner and operator of mobile home parks across the country, acquired the 250-lot Bay City for $42 million, marking its first acquisition in Delaware.
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Piazza Auto Group, which owns three luxury dealerships in Delaware, including this one in Newark, has filed plans to build a new auto mall off I-95. | DBT PHOTO BY JACOB OWENS[/caption]
2. Promenade at Christiana $32M
Buyer: Piazza Auto
Seller: Kimco Realty
The Piazza Auto Group, a major regional vehicle dealer with three luxury brand dealerships already in Delaware, has plans to develop a new auto mall near the Route 273 and Interstate 95 interchange. The property, most recently planned to be an industrial warehouse, was acquired in May by a Piazza Auto subsidiary for more than $32 million, marking the second largest property sale statewide this year.
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The Christina Crossing shopping center anchored by a ShopRite grocery store traded this year between investment firms. | DBT PHOTO BY JACOB OWENS[/caption]
3. Christina Crossing $29.8M
Buyer: First National Realty Partners
Seller: DRA / KPR
Just a year after last trading hands, Christina Crossing, the grocery-anchored shopping center that helped revitalize the South Market Street corridor in Wilmington, was sold for $29.8 million in October. First National Realty Partners (FNRP), a national private equity commercial real estate firm that has a portfolio of grocery-anchored shopping centers around the country, picked up the center in the year’s largest retail deal.
4. Atlantic Shores Rehabilitation and Healthcare Center $28.5M
Buyer: TL Management
Seller: Summit Healthcare REIT
Coming just days before the end of the year, a $28.5 million deal for the Atlantic Shores Rehabilitation and Healthcare Center, a nursing center in Millsboro, was the year’s biggest health care deal. New York nursing center investor TL Management acquired the 181-bed Atlantic Shores on Dec. 27 from California investment firm Summit Healthcare.
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The Chateau Orleans apartment complex was the largest multi-family deal of the year. | DBT PHOTO BY JACOB OWENS[/caption]
5. Chateau Orleans Apartments $26.5M
Buyer: Capital Management
Seller: Olive Tree Management
This unheralded July sale of the 168-unit Chateau Orleans apartment complex near Edgemoor was the largest multi-family deal of the year. Capital Management, an owner-operator of multifamily complexes primarily in New Jersey that broke the $100 million investment mark in Delaware in 2022, acquired the community from another New Jersey firm with a Delaware presence, Olive Tree Management.
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The Buccini/Pollin Group sold the Homewood Suites hotel in Wilmington's Riverfront to a Virginia investment firm. | DBT PHOTO BY JACOB OWENS[/caption]
6. Homewood Suites by Hilton Riverfront $26M
Buyer: SAK Developers
Seller: Buccini/Pollin Group
Mega Wilmington development firm Buccini/Pollin Group (BPG) sold its Homewood Suites by Hilton Wilmington Downtown hotel to SAK Developers, a Virginia real estate investment firm with a portfolio of hotels in the Washington, D.C. area and Virginia Beach, Va., for more than $26 million in June.
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K. Hovnanian is now developing the project originally known as Scenic Manor near Lewes.[/caption]
7. Scenic Manor $24M
Buyer: K. Hovnanian
Seller: McKee Builders
The Pennsylvania-based homebuilder K. Hovnanian acquired nearly 168 acres from competing builder McKee in May for $24 million. It is now developing the land located on the Rehoboth Bay in Lewes into a 55+ community known as K Hovnanian’s Four Seasons at Scenic Harbor.
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The sale of Lighthouse Hills Apartments in Edgemoor is the year’s largest commercial deal in Delaware so far. | DBT PHOTO BY JACOB OWENS[/caption]
8. Lighthouse Hill Apartments $21.48M
Buyer: Oakmark Management
Seller: Odin Properties
Oakmark Management, a fast-growing real estate investment and management firm based in New Jersey, bought the Lighthouse Hill apartment complex off Governor Printz Boulevard for almost $21.5 million in April. The 153-unit complex was sold by Odin Properties, a Philadelphia-based real estate investment firm led by Philip Balderston.
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Capstone Homes acquired these parcels along Route 1 near Spring Lake Townhomes. | MAP COURTESY OF GOOGLE/DBT GRAPHIC[/caption]
9. Spring Lake $21M
Buyer: Capstone Homes
Seller: Spring Lake Properties
Rehoboth Beach-based Capstone Homes acquired more than 8 undeveloped acres fronting Route 1 near the Spring Lake townhouse community in March. The land had already been planned for residential development, but had yet to get underway.
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U.S. Wind acquired this 140-acre parcel of land near the Indian River Generating Station in late December. | MAP COURTESY OF GOOGLE/DBT GRAPHIC[/caption]
10. Indian River Power Plant land $20M
Buyer: U.S. Wind
Seller: NRG Energy
Offshore wind developer U.S. Wind quietly acquired the 140 acres of land neighboring the Indian River Power Plant from NRG Energy the same week as it announced new negotiations with Gov. John Carney’s administration over bringing transmission lines from Maryland-regulated windmills to Delaware’s shores. The $20 million deal in December comes as the firm aims to bring underwater cables to the substation at Dagsboro, where the coal-fired power plant is planned to be decommissioned.