Earth Fare emerging south of downtown

All-natural grocer is expected to open on the southern edge of downtown Orlando as soon as the end of next year.

is under way with NOVEL Lucerne, the

project including 375 apartments, a restaurant and the specialty grocery that are part of the project at Orange Avenue and Gore Streets, south of downtown Orlando.

Earth Fare has four other stores in Florida; this will be its first in Orlando. Earth Fare stores are usually about 25,000 square feet, which is nearly half the size of a Fresh Market store.

Completion apartments is summer. The

designed the of the first slated next

project. $338,000 in the second quarter, which was up 5 percent from a year earlier but down from a peak of about $370,000 in 2006.

Anchored by Horizon West residential construction, the southwest part of Orange County was the only Orlando-area submarket that had both top-tier prices and sales. Average sales prices there were $440,000, trailing only the Lake Mary/ Sanford area, which had 47 sales averaging $549,000.

The most affordable submarket in the region was the Tavares/Umatilla/Eustis/ Mount Dora area with 91 sales averaging $225,000.

Inc. purchased 24.4 acres on North Econlockhatchee Trail, Orlando, for $2.7 million. The builder is expected to develop 180 residential lots at the property, which is just southeast of state roads 408 and 417. Dale Nichols sold the land and was represented by Lawson Dann, senior vice president for and Cole Whitaker, senior managing director for Town of Central Florida at 3500 S. Sanford Ave., Sanford for $330,000 with plans to offer community programs there. Partner Paul Partyka represented the seller, Father Flanagan’s Boys’ Town, based in Omaha, Neb. Robin Roskowski of

represented the county in its purchase of the building with 4,784 square feet.

A group managed by Robert Fike of Orlando purchased the Orlando

at 14524 E. Colonial Drive, Orlando, for $2.5 million.

represented the seller on the sale of the property.

Apartments are expected to be built on Kurt Street in Eustis with the sale of 6.7 acres that had been owned by Rick Gonzalez,

of represented the bank and Sunaina Puril, of

represented the investor who purchased the property.