Florida Cancer Specialists signs deal for Winter Park Village office space

This article appeared originally on Orlando Business Journal.

Winter Park Village — one of Central Florida's biggest retail centers — has landed a new office tenant as it undergoes a multimillion-dollar facelift.

Florida Cancer Specialists signed a deal to take 37,000 square feet of office space above the Winter Park Village retail at 510 Orlando Ave., Orlando Business Journal has learned.

Previously, Columbus, Ohio-based property owner Casto explored the option to redevelop the space for apartments, but those plans changed after an office tenant was found.

Executives with Florida Cancer Specialists weren't available for comment. Cresa Orlando's Sarah Castor represented Florida Cancer Specialists, and Colliers' Matthew McKeever and Rick Solik represented the landlord in the deal.

"We're very pleased with Florida Cancer Specialists being a part of the reinvented Winter Park Village," Brett Hutchens, president of Casto Southeast, told Orlando Business Journal.

Casto revealed plans in December to inject roughly $20 million to upgrade the property's exterior to attract new tenants after the retail center struggled due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Winter Park Village features restaurants, a movie theater, a Publix, apartments and more.

The backstory

Several firms had shown interest in the office space, including Magruder Eye, which ultimately wanted to own the land for its new building, as OBJ previously reported. That company ended up striking a deal for a future 42,000-square-foot medical office building in the nearby mixed-use Ravaudage development.

The Winter Park office market is one of the most in-demand in Central Florida due to its location and proximity to decision makers, office experts say. For example, a 4,868-square-foot building at 271 N. Pennsylvania Ave. sold for $3.25 million on Jan. 20, or roughly $667 per square foot. A typical Orlando office deal is roughly $200-$250 per square foot, but desirable Winter Park office space often trades for more than double that amount.

 

Office stats

The Winter Park office market has an 8.2% average average vacancy rate, which is among the lowest in Central Florida, showing demand for office space there, Cushman & Wakefield reported. The Orlando-area average vacancy rate is 14.3%.

Meanwhile, the Winter Park submarket's average Class A office space rental rate is $33.34 per square foot, compared with the Orlando-area average of $27.28 per square foot, according to the report.