Wesley Chapel Development Projects Draw Attention

Below is a link to a recent article appearing in the St. Petersburg Times. The article cites SPG member-manager Jon Wittner and refers to the development boom in New Tampa's Wesley Chapel area where SPG has two projects underway.

For the article, Click Here

(8/22/05- Archived 4/10/06)

Strategic Development, LLC has changed its name to Strategic Properties Group, LLC to better reflect the practice of business. “With more investors interested in earning passive income from investments,” reports Member/Manager Jon Wittner, “we wanted a name that better represented what we’re doing as our core business expands. We will always be developers, but for example, we also will continue to pursue the purchase of fully leased properties like shopping centers and office buildings—properties that will generate for our investors a stream of income and don’t involve a lag period inherent in the development of raw land.”

“We’re very much aware of trends—even contrarian plays—in the real estate marketplace,” says Member/Manager Barry Jackson, “and we pride ourselves in being both knowledgeable about finance and operations and flexible in order to take advantage of various opportunities within the real estate arena.”

Strategic Development, LLC will still serve as Managing General Partner in several properties currently in service—until such time as those properties are sold and the project entities are dissolved. New business takes place under the name Strategic Properties Group, LLC.

(6/24/05- Archived 4/10/06)

In the summer of 2005, SPG introduces a new investment tool.

With the success of our Shoppes of Sheldon, the Shoppes of Wesley Chapel/Rooms to Go (in a 15-month ground lease and impending sale), and the Shoppes of Wesley Chapel shopping center (now leasing and preparing to break ground), Strategic Development has established a track record of exceptional real estate investments.

The mode of operation for each of these projects was the same: find a piece of property located in a strategic growth corridor, raise funds sufficient to acquire the real estate at an opportune time for the market, raise funds sufficient to begin development of the project, then work diligently to attract and sign the right core of tenants to make the project a success. Although this strategy has worked to great success, to which our investor record will point, we find undue challenges to this business method that limit our capacity to move quickly and better serve our investors.

The Florida real estate market is enjoying unprecedented growth. Daily, developers and real estate investors face opportunities to make acquisitions of real estate or properties that promise dramatic returns. Some of these, naturally, don’t bear out on careful analysis, but others are truly great opportunities in the volatile marketplace around Tampa Bay.

Competition in the real estate market in the Tampa Bay area is aggressive. For this reason, successful bids to purchase land or property must be made carefully but quickly so as to avoid losing a viable property due to competition or to avoid unusually rapid appreciation of the property. For developers to capitalize on real opportunity, they must have access to sufficient capital to strike quickly with a short due diligence period and a quick closing time.

“Investors were calling us or literally offering to send checks for us to ‘find property’ to invest in,” says Steve Riley Member/Manager. “They’ve been very happy with the return on their investments vis-à-vis other real estate deals and other investment vehicles they were using, and they were anxious to team up with us on future opportunities. Investors today understand that you don’t just have to be astute, you also have to be liquid in order to move quickly in a hot market.”

Because of the swift market environment, in the wake of our successes and in reaction to the desires of a number of our investors, Strategic Properties Group is launching a series of “Real Estate Investment Funds” or “REIFs.” The goal for the proceeds of this investment tool is to provide the necessary capital up front to allow the Company to move quickly to take advantage of opportunities to purchase land or properties on the market. The targets for such purchases will depend upon the specific desires of the investors, so different REIFs will target different kinds of properties. The Company invites investors to participate in one or more of the REIF opportunities depending upon their desire for passive income, tax benefit, and risk.

For specific information on the REIF opportunities, click here.