NX3 Commercial Group has brokered a $27.5 million portfolio trade that pulled a New York investor out of hands-on apartment ownership and into a spread of low-touch triple-net (NNN) retail sites across Florida, using a 1031 tax-deferred exchange to make the leap. The five-property package combines single-tenant, freestanding stores with a multi-tenant shopping center, all backed by national retailers. NX3 principals Luke Thomson and Robert Zahralban led the deal.
The portfolio includes a 7-Eleven in Tierra Verde, a Chipotle in Middleburg, a Wawa in Tampa, a Starbucks in Orlando and a multi-tenant retail center in Deltona anchored by Verizon, Chipotle and Jersey Mike’s, according to ACCESS Newswire. Brokers say that blend of convenience, quick-service restaurant and service tenants is exactly the kind of passive-income mix 1031 buyers have been chasing.
“This is a tale as old as time. Sellers of apartment buildings who are tired of the management are moving their money into NNN,” NX3 President Luke Thomson said in a statement to ACCESS Newswire, adding that capital is following owners relocating from high-tax states into Florida. The firm presented the trade as part of a broader migration of investment dollars into income-tax-free markets.
How the 1031 Exchange Worked
The buyer used a 1031 exchange structure to defer capital gains taxes by selling the apartment asset, then identifying and closing on replacement properties within the required timelines. It is a familiar playbook for investors who want to swap more active multifamily holdings for lower-maintenance net-lease assets. NX3, headquartered in Fort Lauderdale and reporting more than $2 billion in NNN property sales, advises clients on 1031 execution and portfolio assembly, according to NX3 Commercial Group.
Numbers and Who Brokered the Deal
NX3 said Thomson and Zahralban brokered the closing, with a combined sale price of $27,331,225 for roughly 20,912 square feet of space, which pencils out to about $1,307 per square foot for the assembled assets. LinkedIn shows a sale summary and images of the properties.
Why This Matters for Florida Investors
The portfolio highlights why investors are leaning into corporate-backed NNN deals: long leases, predictable rents and minimal landlord responsibilities make it easier to own from afar, especially as owners shift their residency. NX3’s recent market commentary points to cap-rate compression, improving financing conditions and tax-driven migration as key forces boosting appetite for net-lease inventory in Florida, a dynamic the firm outlines in its 2026 NNN market outlook. NX3 Commercial Group has previously detailed those trends.
