The Hub at Bexley Sells for $28.75M in Record Land O’ Lakes Retail Deal
The Hub at Bexley, a roughly 50,000-square-foot open-air retail center in Land O’ Lakes, Florida, has sold for $28.75 million in what JLL describes as the largest retail trade in Land O’ Lakes history. CenterSquare Investment Management acquired the fully leased property from Tampa-based Center Connect Development, adding another major investment to Pasco County’s rapidly expanding State Road 54 corridor.
Completed in 2023, The Hub at Bexley sits at 16954 Focus Loop near State Road 54 and Bexley Village Drive. The property is 100% leased and combines restaurants, health and wellness businesses, entertainment concepts and service-oriented retailers in a village-style environment built around outdoor gathering spaces.
For commercial real estate investors, developers and tenants, the transaction is bigger than the sale of one shopping center. It provides another indication that institutional capital is following Tampa Bay’s residential growth north into Pasco County.
The Hub at Bexley Deal at a Glance
Sale Price: $28.75 million
Location: 16954 Focus Loop, Land O’ Lakes, FL
Size: Approximately 50,000–50,300 square feet
Occupancy: 100%
Completed: 2023
Buyer: CenterSquare Investment Management
Seller: Center Connect Development
Approximate Sale Price Per Square Foot: $572
Traffic Exposure: More than 68,000 vehicles per day
Market: Land O’ Lakes / Pasco County / North Tampa
JLL represented Center Connect Development in the transaction, while CenterSquare Investment Management acquired the property. CenterSquare, headquartered in suburban Philadelphia, manages approximately $16 billion in assets and invests on behalf of institutional and private investors.
A Nearly $572-Per-Square-Foot Retail Transaction
Using the 50,300-square-foot building size reported by the Business Observer, the $28.75 million purchase price works out to approximately $572 per square foot.
Price per square foot alone does not determine a commercial property’s value. Lease terms, tenant credit, rental rates, capitalization rates, location, property age and future income growth all influence pricing. Still, the transaction provides a useful benchmark for newer, stabilized retail assets in one of Pasco County’s fastest-growing suburban areas.
The property also offers something investors often value: relatively new construction with existing occupancy. The Hub was completed in 2023 and was fully leased at the time of sale, reducing some of the immediate lease-up and capital improvement risks associated with acquiring an older or partially vacant shopping center.
Service-Oriented Retail Is Driving the Bexley Story
The Hub at Bexley is not built around a conventional big-box retail model.
Its tenant roster includes BellaBrava, Stillwaters Tavern, TREK Land O’ Lakes, Taco Bus, Grain & Berry, Urban Crunch Creamery Café, Elite Martial Arts, Tampa Smile Co., Woof Gang Bakery & Grooming and other restaurant and service concepts.
According to CenterSquare information cited by the Business Observer, approximately 90% of the center’s tenant mix consists of local and regional operators. The buyer specifically said the property fits its investment thesis of targeting service-oriented retail.
That strategy is noteworthy for commercial real estate professionals.
Restaurants, fitness concepts, dental offices, salons, pet services, entertainment and other service businesses generally require a physical location. These uses can help neighborhood retail centers remain relevant even as traditional merchandise shopping continues shifting online.
The Hub takes that strategy a step further by incorporating landscaped courtyards, outdoor seating, events and a covered stage. Instead of functioning only as a collection of storefronts, the project is designed to encourage customers to stay longer and visit multiple businesses.
Bexley Brings the Rooftops Retailers Want
One of the strongest features supporting the center is the residential development surrounding it.
JLL describes The Hub as the commercial anchor for Bexley by Newland, a sold-out master-planned community entitled for as many as 2,100 residential units.
Those rooftops create the recurring customer base that neighborhood restaurants and service retailers depend upon.
The broader demographics are even more significant. JLL reports an average household income exceeding $160,000 within five miles of the center. The firm also says the surrounding trade area includes more than 87,500 residents, with population projected to grow approximately 18% through 2030.
Those numbers help explain why investors are willing to deploy significant capital into Land O’ Lakes retail real estate.
Pasco County’s Population Has Surged 20% Since 2020
The Bexley transaction is also occurring against a much larger demographic trend.
The U.S. Census Bureau estimates Pasco County’s population reached 674,516 in 2025, compared with an April 2020 population estimates base of 561,909. That represents growth of approximately 20% in only five years.
Land O’ Lakes itself also demonstrates substantial household spending power. Census Bureau data reports a median household income of $98,568 for the Land O’ Lakes census-designated place using 2020-2024 data.
Population growth plus income growth is an important combination for commercial development.
More rooftops create demand not just for restaurants and stores, but also for medical offices, childcare, fitness facilities, financial services, grocery stores, automotive services and other daily-needs businesses.
State Road 54 Is Becoming One of North Tampa’s Most Important Commercial Corridors
Location may be the most important component of the Bexley investment story.
The Hub sits at State Road 54 and Bexley Village Drive, with JLL reporting exposure to more than 68,000 vehicles per day.
SR 54 serves as one of the principal east-west routes through southern Pasco County, connecting growth areas that include Land O’ Lakes, Odessa, Trinity and Wesley Chapel while providing access to major north-south transportation routes.
For retailers and developers, that creates a powerful combination: traffic, residential growth, higher-income households and access to the larger Tampa Bay employment market.
It also helps explain why the corridor has increasingly attracted restaurants, healthcare providers, service businesses and new retail development.
This kind of specialty center is interesting for the customers as they have a variety of shop tenants that provide branding you don’t see at a lot of other location. It does provide a unique challenge, as specialty centers need replacement tenant more often than the more traditional Grocery or Box anchored projects. They are a much more management intensive tenant base.”
-Paul Rutledge of ExtendedReachUSA with over 40 years in retail shopping centers
Institutional Capital Is Following Tampa Bay’s Growth North
Perhaps the most important takeaway from the transaction is who bought the property.
CenterSquare is not simply a local investor acquiring a neighborhood shopping center. The firm manages billions of dollars in real estate assets and has offices in the United States and internationally. The Bexley acquisition brought its national portfolio to 87 properties, according to the Business Observer.
That gives the transaction significance beyond Land O’ Lakes.
For years, residential growth has pushed farther north from Tampa through Lutz, Odessa, Land O’ Lakes and Wesley Chapel. Commercial development is increasingly following those rooftops.
The Hub at Bexley sale suggests investors are not simply looking at Pasco County as a future growth story. Capital is already being committed to stabilized commercial properties serving that population today.
What the Bexley Sale Could Mean for Future Development Along SR 54
The $28.75 million transaction may also strengthen the case for additional commercial development in the surrounding area.
As Pasco County adds residents, developers could continue searching for opportunities involving restaurants, quick-service concepts, medical offices, fitness centers, childcare, grocery, financial services, entertainment and neighborhood service retail.
Not every project will command the pricing achieved by The Hub at Bexley. The property’s new construction, full occupancy, affluent surrounding demographics and established master-planned community create a combination that is difficult to replicate.
But the underlying demand drivers are important.
When a fully leased suburban retail property attracts an institutional buyer at nearly $29 million, developers, landowners and investors tend to notice.
The $28.75M Deal Sends a Bigger Message About Land O’ Lakes
The Hub at Bexley sale is ultimately about more than one shopping center.
It highlights the evolution of Land O’ Lakes commercial real estate from a market driven primarily by future residential expectations into one capable of attracting substantial institutional investment.
Pasco County has added more than 110,000 residents since its 2020 population estimate base. Bexley has delivered thousands of potential households. State Road 54 carries tens of thousands of vehicles each day. And the area’s income levels provide the spending power necessary to support restaurants, healthcare, services and experiential retail.
The result is a commercial environment that increasingly resembles its own economic market rather than simply an extension of Tampa.
As residential and commercial development continue moving north, the $28.75 million Hub at Bexley transaction may be remembered as another indication that institutional investors have put Land O’ Lakes—and the broader Pasco County retail market—firmly on their radar.
