NX3 Commercial Group Sells Publix-Anchored SweetBay Town Center
News related to:NX3 Commercial Group · 2 min read
PANAMA CITY, Fla., October 1, 2026 /CourierPR/ -- NX3 Commercial Group has brokered the $23.5 million sale of the Publix-anchored SweetBay Town Center, a new construction shopping center located at 3213 W Hwy 390 in Panama City, Florida. This transaction marks the firm's second Publix deal of 2026.
The $23.5 million price equates to approximately $343 per square foot for the 68,550-square-foot center. The shopping center, completed in 2025, is 100% leased, with Publix Super Markets opening its 48,387-square-foot store in January 2025. Publix and its adjacent Publix Liquors store together account for about 74% of the center's leasable area and 53% of its income.
Publix pays a market rent of $15.00 per square foot. The grocer, which holds the No. 1 market share in Florida and ranks No. 72 on the Fortune 500, has more than 260,000 employees and generated about $59.7 billion in 2024 sales. The center's shop space is leased to a service-oriented, largely national and regional tenant lineup, including Starbucks, Fleet Feet, The Little Gym, LV Nail Spa, Pita Street, Pana Roma Pizza and Pasta, Qwik Pack & Ship, Jeremiah's Italian Ice, and St. Andrew Bay Land Co., which operates the leasing and sales center for the SweetBay community.
The property carries a weighted average lease term (WALT) of more than 18 years. National and regional tenants generate 90% of its income, and 98% of tenancy is service-oriented, a mix that tends to resist e-commerce pressure. SweetBay Town Center sits at the entrance to the SweetBay master-planned community, which is planned for more than 3,200 homes at build-out. The community includes The Residences at SweetBay (360 Class A apartments), a marina with 288 dry docks and 56 wet slips, and University Academy, a charter school where SweetBay residents receive priority enrollment.
The center has signalized access on Highway 390, which carries about 22,500 vehicles per day. The average household income within one mile is roughly $108,000, and the five-mile daytime population is 90,904. Panama City is one of the fastest-growing metros in the Southeast, with $414 million being invested in an 87-acre FSU medical campus and hospital scheduled to open in 2028. Multifamily units within five miles rose 83% over the past five years.