Steve Hyatt of Berger Commercial Realty Facilitates Sale of Spyke’s Groves and Tropical Nursery
Berger Commercial Realty/Corfac International Senior Vice President Steve Hyatt represented the Seller, Peter D. Spyke, as Trustee of the Marion O. Spyke Revocable Trust, in the sale of Spyke’s Groves And Tropical Nursery located at 7250 Griffin Road in Davie, Florida.
National Homebuilder D R Horton, Inc. paid $8,052,750 for a large undeveloped parcel at the former nursery and farmer’s market retail store location totaling 18.6 acres, equating to nearly $433,000 per acre.
The transaction closed June 27.
D R Horton plans to build 51 townhouses and 35 single family homes surrounding a 4-acre lake on the property. Additional amenities include a community pool and playground.
According to the company’s website, H.L. Spyke and a friend from the Navy founded the family business in 1946 under the name Garner & Spyke Fruit Co. in downtown Fort Lauderdale. When Mr. Spyke’s partner left that year, his son Harry H. joined the business, which then became H.L. Spyke & Son Fruit Co. In 1950, the grove in Davie was purchased in an effort to maintain a consistent supply of fresh fruit for the downtown business. People began stopping at the fruit plantation instead of driving into town as Ft. Lauderdale boomed. The grove’s popularity among visitors and residents led to the sale of the downtown location and the concentration of all efforts at the Davie location. When a nearby zoo closed, Spyke and his family took in the homeless animals, which increased the local draw. For a very long time, black bears Toby the Bear and JoJo the Bear entertained tourists from all over the world. After his father passed away in 1959, Harry H. took over the company. He changed its name to “Spyke’s Grove” and guided the company toward new growth. “You just can’t get [it] up north,” people said as they came by to fill their cars up with fresh Spyke’s Citrus. This developed into the gift-delivery of oranges and grapefruit.
“There are very few large development sites available for home development in Broward County,” explained Hyatt. “D R Horton’s project will provide much needed new housing stock geared primarily for young families.”
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About Berger Commercial Realty/CORFAC International: Berger Commercial Realty/CORFAC International is a regional, full service commercial real estate firm based in South Florida. Independent and privately owned since its founding in 1998, the firm is a member of CORFAC International, a global network of independently owned commercial real estate brokerage firms. The firm’s property management and brokerage services include tenant/landlord and buyer/seller representation; project and construction management; receiverships; agency/project leasing; capital advisory/investment sales; retail services and more. For more information about Berger Commercial Realty’s brokerage services, CALL 954.358.0900 or visit www.bergercommercial.com.
About CORFAC International: CORFAC International is a global network comprised of privately held entrepreneurial commercial real estate firms with expertise in office, industrial and retail brokerage, tenant and landlord representation, investment sales, multifamily, self-storage, acquisitions and dispositions, property management and corporate services. Founded in 1989, CORFAC has 75 offices in the U.S., Canada, and international markets, including Australia, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Netherlands, Romania, Russia, Singapore, South Korea, Switzerland, Thailand, and United Kingdom. CORFAC offices close an average of 10,000 lease and sales transactions valued in excess of $9.0 billion annually, totaling 500 million square feet closed and 65 million square feet managed worldwide.
