Trader Joes buys Dr. Phillips property WFTV [Video]

ORLANDO, Fla. — Editor’s note: This story is available as a result of a content partnership between WFTV and the Orlando Business Journal.

Trader Joe’s has purchased a 17,121-square-foot building in the Dr. Phillips area that had two tenants: the popular grocery store and Slate, a Restaurant Row eatery that closed its doors in January.

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Unicorp National Developments sold the property at 8323 Sand Lake Road to the California-based grocery store chain for $14 million, or about $817 per square foot — a deal Unicorp CEO Chuck Whittall believes is the biggest sale per square foot in Central Florida. “I don’t think you’ll find anything that sold higher per square foot than what that property sold for.”

“Trader Joe’s came to us five to six months ago and said they’re doing so well on Sand Lake Road that they wanted to expand into Slate,” said Whittall, who also owned the restaurant, explaining why …