Apartment Moves

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Central Florida

On May 7, Tampa-based Blue Rock Partners, LLC, in partnership with Konover South, LLC, Deerfield Beach, and Aztec Group, Inc., Miami, acquired the 208-unit Woodside Apartments in Kissimmee from Freddie Mac, to surpass 2,000 Orlando-area units. Having acquired over 1,000 Orlando-area apartment units in the past 18 months, Blue Rock now owns six apartment communities in Altamonte Springs, Kissimmee, Orlando, Winter Park and Winter Springs.

In making the announcement, Randy X. Ferreira, CPM, Owner/Principal of Blue Rock Partners, said rebranding of the newly-named Park at Sorrento will include an additional $2.5 million investment in improvements. Shelton Granade, Senior Vice President with CBRE’s Investment Properties Group, Orlando, brokered the transaction. Additional purchase details were not disclosed. Together with partner Konover South, Blue Rock also recently purchased and rebranded the 344-unit Park at Cambridge, the 288-unit Park at Sutton Place and the 168-unit Park at Canterbury.

Bay Area

Synergy Properties, Inc. sold the 422-unit Seaport Channelside Apts. in Tampa to Greensboro, NC-based Bell Partners for more than $66 million, or $157,000 per unit. It has been renamed Bell Channelside. The property was built in 2007 and 94% occupied at time of sale.

Apartments at Oak Creek LLC bought the 184-unit Oak Creek Apts. in Clearwater from Wisco Holdings for $8.8 million, or $45,000 per unit. Michael P. Regan and Francesco P. Carriera of Marcus & Millichap handled the transaction.

Oak Creek was built in 1984 and was 96% occupied at point of sale.

"This transaction represents why we are back to some level of normalcy in multifamily commercial real estate," said Carriera. "This property underwent a significant renovation over the last couple of years. The buyer was a private entity and this was their first multifamily acquisition. They were able to receive financing in the amount of 80 percent LTV with favorable rate and terms."

Marcus & Millichap also handled the sale of Andover Bay Townhomes, an 18-unit subdivision in St. Petersburg for $1,000,000, or $55,555 per unit. Casey Babb, CCIM, and Luis Baez handled the transaction.

A private partnership bought the 48-unit Lincoln Place Apts. in Tampa for $2,147,500, which represents $44,739 per unit and $55.92 per square foot. Babb, Baez and Michael Donaldson of Marcus & Millichap handled the transaction. Lincoln Place was built in 1984.

Colliers International Tampa Bay, in conjunction with Auction.com, sold the 236-unit Martin's Landing Apts. in Lakeland for $6.825 million ($29,034 per unit) through a four-week auction period.

John Stone, CCIM, of Colliers International represented the seller, 3520 Cleveland Heights LLC. The buyer, Integritas Residential, LLC, represented by Kevin Kelleher of Franklin Street, purchased the 37-year-old apartment community.

One of the largest multifamily development firms in the Southeast, the Altman Companies, plans to target Tampa for new apartment projects. Joel Altman, chairman of the Boca Raton-based firm, says new projects are expected to start construction in Tampa in 2013. The firm also plans to start construction on an apartment community in Austin, Texas, next year, according to a release.

Altman rents are recovering and occupancies are high on the firm’s existing inventory of rental properties. He also said the current national shift from traditional home ownership to rentals is "being seen in all markets we’re in."

Added Altman: "Our strategy is to have three to four new multifamily communities lined up per year with a focus entirely on rentals."

Miami-based American Land Ventures plans to build luxury apartments on a prime 2.88-acre vacant parcel at the northeast corner of Fourth Avenue South and Third Street South in downtown St. Petersburg. The proposed development would further realize plans for a walking-friendly downtown lifestyle that planners and developers have talked about for more than a decade.

The property is on the south side of the nearly 10-year-old University Village Shopping Center, which is anchored by a Publix grocery store, and north of the Madison at St. Pete condos and townhomes.

The Tampa office of ARA brokered the transaction.

Crescent Resources LLC, in partnership with Global Growth Trust, acquired 25 acres in Tampa, and is set to build a $37 million apartment community called Circle Crosstown.

The planned community will be comprised of 344 garden-style apartment units, adjacent to the intersection of I-75 and the Lee Roy Selmon Expressway.

"Circle Crosstown will be special because it will be infused with the exceptional quality and customer-oriented features that have become Crescent hallmarks," said Tim Dison, Crescent Resources’ Vice President, Florida and Student Housing. "Also, the community will preserve many of the existing trees on site, providing a unique aspect to the property not usually seen in a newly developed property."

Southeast Florida

A new multifamily project by Miami-based Adler Group and Atlanta-based ECI Group will meet rising demand for rental housing in South Florida. Adler and ECI will develop two luxury 20-story apartment towers overlooking Biscayne Bay on a 2.84-acre site located at 7950 NE Bayshore Court. Groundbreaking is scheduled for later this year and the development timeline is expected to last 24 months.

News of the development comes as Miami experiences an uptick in demand for multifamily living and a depletion of available rental supply. A recent market study conducted by Focus Real Estate Advisors found that overall average vacancy rates in the Miami rental market declined steadily over the past seven quarters, dropping to 4.7% as of Q4 2011. Rising demand and extremely limited supply currently in development both market-wide and in Miami’s Upper East Side indicate these trends will continue, according to the report.

The Adler-ECI development will fill a void of available rental product in the mainland Miami communities north of the Downtown/Brickell market and south of the Aventura/Sunny Isles market. The new development will be situated just north of NE 79th Street, directly across the 79th Street Causeway from Miami Beach and halfway between downtown Miami and Aventura. The site was the former home of the historic Mike Gordon’s Seafood Restaurant, a Miami dining institution for more than a half-century prior to its closing. The acquisition of the land was financed by Miami-based Apollo Bank.

Beech Street Capital, LLC provided a $20.2 million Freddie Mac CME loan to refinance the 276-unit Horizons North Apts., a 276-unit garden-style apartment in Miami. Joel Mazur, vice president out of Beech Street Capital’s Chicago office, originated the transaction.

The borrower, a repeat client of Beech Street, purchased the property in 1999 and was facing an upcoming loan maturity deadline. The borrower has over 20 years of experience with multifamily properties in the Florida market with six properties in Florida consisting of 1,182 units.

Beech Street also provided a $16.3 million Fannie Mae conventional loan to refinance the 296-unit Jacaranda Village at Plantation in Plantation, built in 1985. Brian Sykes, vice president out of Beech Street Capital’s Boston office, originated the transaction.

Scully Company, based in Philadelphia and South Florida, a first-time client of Beech Street, approached the lender with a request to pay off existing lower floating tax exempt bonds with low leverage fixed-rate debt. Beech Street worked closely with the borrower and provided a variety of refinancing options at different terms and leverage points. The borrower selected a seven-year fixed-rate option with Fannie Mae.

Carrfour Supportive Housing, Florida’s largest nonprofit affordable housing developer, is teaming up with Miami-Dade County and the Florida Housing Finance Corporation to provide much-needed permanent housing and supportive services for 300 individuals with the launch of Dr. Barbara Carey-Shuler Manor affordable housing complex. Located at 1400 NW 54th Street in the heart of Miami-Dade County’s Liberty City neighborhood, the $30 million mixed-use community includes 100 affordable housing apartments.

Fifty of Dr. Barbara Carey-Shuler Manor’s units are designated for formerly homeless families transitioning from life on the streets in Miami, with another fifty units set aside for elderly residents and low-income families earning at or below 60% of the area’s median income. Among the community’s 250 residents are dozens of American military veterans who served their country before falling into cycles of homelessness and drug addiction. At the same time, development of the project produced approximately 200 construction jobs and six permanent positions.

"Dr. Barbara Carey-Shuler Manor is a good example of a project that provides a safe place for our community’s needy while also stimulating the local economy," said Carrfour President Stephanie Berman. "Not only is this complex providing homes for hundreds of families and individuals in need of an affordable, safe place to live, but it is also serving as a catalyst for expanded housing and job opportunities for local residents."

Vista Mar, a 110-unit apartment community in Miami’s Wynwood neighborhood, has opened its doors. The locally-based Pinnacle Housing Group developed the affordable housing property, which was 100 percent leased even before completion because of the strong demand for this kind of housing.

The property accommodates residents earning annual incomes that range from 33 percent to 60 percent of the area’s median income. It is not, however, short on amenities, according to the developer. Property features include granite counter tops, stainless steel kitchen appliances and views of Biscayne Bay.

Pinnacle Housing Group also incorporates art into its developments, including this one. Local artist Christian Bernard created the murals on the east and west facades of Vista Mar, which are known as "Color Burst." Vista Mar is also a LEED-silver certified property.

The Boca Raton office of Atlanta-headquartered ARA brokered the sale of 118 units, positioned on a two-acre site in the heart of South Beach. The asset was originally built in 1939 and then carefully restored in 2011. The buildings are quintessential examples of the Streamline Modern Art Deco architecture in Miami Beach. Avery Klann, Dick Donnellan and Hampton Beebe represented Ram Realty Services in the sale to an undisclosed buyer.

Armando Codina announced that his Coral Gables-based CC Residential has formed a partnership with AREA Property Partners, a New York real estate investment giant, to develop rental apartment projects in South Florida. The alliance includes two projects on which Codina has already broken ground: a 352-unit project renamed The Signature at Doral, at Doral Boulevard (NW 41st Street) and the Homestead Extension of Florida’s Turnpike, and a 350-apartment project on Davie Road between SW 29th Street and SW 31st Street, renamed The Signature at Davie.

Related Group has broken ground on a six-story, 197-unit Veranda at 599 NW 82nd Avenue in Plantation, with leasing planned in the summer of 2013. Related Group also expects to break ground soon on the first of two 360-unit communities at Doral View, a three-story, garden-style project. It also plans a 24-story tower with 249 units, Allied Marine, in downtown Fort Lauderdale.

Related Group and Shoma Group have acquired land for a mixed-use development of multifamily housing, retail and other commercial product in the city of Doral in Miami-Dade County. The Park Square at Doral will be located on 48 acres, and the developers say ground will likely be broken on the first phase later this year. The exact plans for the property aren’t finalized yet, but the developers and the city are now trying to nail down the details. The first phase will include as many as 400 multifamily units on six acres entitled for that use. The multifamily component will offer one-, two- and three-bedroom units in a six-story building with structured parking. The first phase will also include retail space, possibly in an open-air setting: upscale dining and entertainment, as well as local shops and anchor stores.

One of the goals for the mixed-use project is to create a pedestrian-friendly environment the immediate vicinity, according to the developers. The project will also complement the nearby One Park Square at Doral building, which is home to 281,000 square feet of office space tenanted by the likes of Amadeus North America’s corporate headquarters, the Latin Recording Academy and Harley-Davidson Motor Co.’s Latin America regional sales offices.

Wood Partners has plans to break ground in July on the $26.9 million, 116-unit Midtown Delray, an apartment community located at 4200 Old Germantown Road in Delray Beach. Current Builders is the general contractor for the project, AW Architects is the architecture firm, Michael B. Schorah & Associates is the civil engineer company and Urban Design Kilday Studios will design the landscape.

The Altman Companies has announced plans for the development of rental communities in Boynton Beach, Coconut Creek, Pembroke Pines and Kendall. The four communities, which are expected to begin construction this year, would add a total of 1,110 units to the market. They would be marketed under the names Altís at Renaissance Commons in Boynton Beach, Altís at Coconut Creek, Altís at Pembroke Pines and Altís at Kendall Commons.

The Altís at Renaissance Commons community in Boynton Beach is being bought from K. Hovnanian Homes and will involve a second phase buildout based on the original architectural plans. The new phase will feature two six-story buildings with structured parking, a clubhouse and pool amenities.

In a partnership with Miami-based Integra Solutions, The Altman Companies acquired property from PNC and constructed and leased Peninsula, a 70-unit luxury residential community in Boynton Beach.

DeBartolo Development LLC and Elco Landmark Residential have acquired a 542-unit multifamily community in Palm Beach Gardens. The joint venture partnership between the two paid $54 million, or about $100,000 per unit, for the property.

They have rebranded the property as Landmark at Garden Square and plan to undertake improvements within the next six months. Currently 92 percent occupied, the property — formerly known as Union Square — was built in 1974 and underwent a $23 million upgrade in the mid-2000s under the direction of previous owners, including the seller, Ceebraid-Signal Corp. CBRE’s Robert Given represented the seller in the deal, with the JV representing themselves.

The property, which includes 51 two-story buildings, features a mix of one-, two- and three-bedroom residences with open kitchens and eight-foot ceilings. Situated next to the Jack Nicklaus Sports Complex, amenities include three swimming pools, clubhouse, fitness center, business center, movie theater, tennis court, billiards rooms and a nine-hole putting green.

The same partnership bought the 384-unit former Sunshadow Apts. (now Landmark at Woodland Trace) in Casselberry in January 2012. DeBartolo also recently completed first phase of Andros Isles Apartments, a 360-unit property in Daytona.

Southwest Florida

New York-based Tarragon Corp. lost about $20 million when it sold the 178-unit The Tradition at Palm Aire Apts. in Manatee County for $13.5 million ($75,843 per unit) to JWC Sarasota TPA LLC. Tradition Tarragon LLC bought the property for $35 million in 2005, according to the Bradenton Herald. Tradition Tarragon did sell some of the units as condos when the company first bought the complex during the height of the housing boom