Daily Record Financial News &
Tuesday, February 23, 2016
Vol. 103, No. 072 • One Section
35¢ www.jaxdailyrecord.com
Photos by David Chapman
Big sign matches Realtor’s results
Sam So of Sam’s Produce helps customer Vernon Norman bag vegetables during a quick shopping trip Monday afternoon. The Jacksonville Farmers Market is slated to start a $560,000 project that would replace vendors’ makeshift canopies, pictured below, with permanent metal awnings, among other improvements.
Sprucing up the market
Jacksonville Farmers Market getting $560,000 facelift By David Chapman, Staff Writer In the food desert on the outskirts of Downtown, an oasis is poised to become a little more attractive. Non-uniform, makeshift tarps will make way for permanent metal awnings to shield sun-sensitive produce. Sidewalks will be expanded to accommodate more people, especially on those busy weekends when people are looking for the deals of the season. A public address system will be installed, improving security and ambiance. It’s all part of a $560,000 project soon to be undertaken by the Jacksonville Farmers Market. The Beaver Street market is in its
77th year and is home to 30 permanent vendors with about a dozen others taking part on those crowded weekends. Overall, the market attracts up to 20,000 people a week in search of fresh fruits and vegetables. People like Vernon Norman who said he’s come to the market “forever” to buy veggies such as cucumbers, tomatoes, celery and collard greens. He stopped by Monday to pick up a few things from Sam’s Produce, whose owner Sam So has been with the market nearly 15 years. The project will be a benefit to both of them and many more, said Jeff Edwards, chief financial officer for Beaver Street Fisheries, which owns the market.
So said vendors purchase their own tarps to block the sun, which can zap the shelf-life of sensitive produce like eggplants. The north-south market hubs allow direct sunlight two times a day, meaning So arranges his stand in a way to combat that — onions and thick-skinned produce like pumpkins go on the edges. Those eggplants, limes and other foods have to be kept shaded. “It should help a lot,” So said of the permanent awnings. Larry Hall has been a market vendor for almost 30 years and has gone through several awnings already this year that have Market continued on Page A-3
Galavis named top agent after 5 years
By Kevin Hogencamp Contributing Writer Just five years into the real estate business, Diana Galavis already is a beacon for her profession and her peers. Galavis is a familiar face and respected voice at City Hall and the Florida Capitol, where she tenaciously advocates for homeowner rights and property investment. She also puts her money where her mouth is: The “Crystal R” pin Galavis wears daily reveals she’s a major Realtor Political Action Committee (RPAC) donor. Galavis’ mother, Galavis fellow real estate professional Millie Kanyar, says her daughter has always been determined. And bighearted. But, Realtors shouldn’t bother asking to borrow Galavis’ trademark “sold” sign. She’ll say no. “That’s the one thing I’m selfish about,” the 34-year-old Watson Realty Corp. broker associate said. With the word “sold” emblazoned in white across a red background, the sign is simple, if not downright artless. But it’s huge. Six feet of marketing ingenuity. And in Northeast Florida, at least, Galavis aims to be the only Realtor who shares the news of her latest real estate transactions in such a grandiose way. She got the idea from a peer in Mississippi. After brokering real estate transactions, the two agents often share photos and the hashtag #giantsoldsign. “It’s part of my branding,” Galavis said. “I’m known for my giant sold sign Realtor continued on Page A-4
Becovic Management Group of Indiana bought more Atlantic Beach property last week, just north of vacant land it bought in December for a luxury apartment development called Ocean Blue Apartments. Through BMG Atlantica LLC, Becovic paid $7.8 million Friday for the Atlantica Apartments community at 2760 Mayport Road. Bradley Coe, director of Multifamily Investment Services with Colliers International Northeast Florida, said the multifamily inventory in the Mayport area continues to perform well, despite most of the conventional communities having been devel-
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oped in the 1980s. Atlantica was developed in 1987 and completely renovated in 2006-07, Coe said in a news release. The $78,000-per-unit sales price was higher than the $74,229 average for apartment community sales in 2015, according to Colliers’ annual multifamily report. The average rent at Atlantica of $1.02 a square foot is at the lower end of the rents for compara-
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tive multifamily properties in the Atlantic Beach market, according to an analysis by Coe. Average per-square-foot rental rates for the better performing communities range from $1 to $1.15, he said. Miami Beach-based Palatine Capital Partners Management LLC, through PAL MF Atlantic Beach LLC, sold the Atlantica community. Coe and Douglas Blair, managing director of Multifamily Investment Services at Colliers, brokered the transaction. The property comprises six two-story buildings that each containing 16 units and a oneApartments
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Photo from Colliers International
Becovic pays $7.8M for Atlantica Apartments
Becovic Management Group paid $78,000 a unit for the 100 Atlantica Apartments along Mayport Road.
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