Market Report

Bay Area

Meridian Capital Group, LLC, a leading national commercial real estate finance and advisory firm, arranged $10.7 million to refinance a multifamily property located in Lakeland, Fla., on behalf of a venture between Blue Rock Partners LLC, Konover South and Stonecutter Capital Management LLC.

The five-year non-recourse mortgage, provided by a correspondent portfolio lender, features a custom-tailored flexible prepayment penalty. This transaction was negotiated by Meridian Managing Director, Seth K. Grossman, and Associate, Sarah Kuebler, who are both based in the company’s Carlsbad, Calif. office.

The Park at Verona, located at 3520 Cleveland Heights Boulevard, is a 236-unit multifamily property that the sponsorship acquired in December 2012. Upon acquisition, the property was substantially renovated.

"The success of this transaction is a clear reflection of the sponsorship’s prowess as a value-add real estate investor," said Grossman. "We look forward to working with them as they continue to build their portfolio in Florida and globally," he added.

Founded in 1991, Meridian Capital Group, LLC is one of the nation’s largest commercial real estate finance and advisory firms. Meridian is headquartered in New York with offices in New Jersey, Maryland, Illinois, Florida and California. Working with a broad array of capital providers, Meridian arranges financing for transactions ranging from $1 million to more than $500 million for multifamily, co-op, office, retail, hotel, mixed-use, industrial, healthcare, student housing, self-storage and construction properties.

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Marcus & Millichap, a leading commercial real estate investment services firm with offices throughout the United States and Canada, announced the sale of Inca Drive Apartments, an eight-unit apartment community located in Tampa, Fla., according to Richard D. Matricaria, regional manager of the firm’s Tampa office. The asset sold for $395,000.

Francesco Carriera and Michael Regan, vice presidents investments, and Joshua Teplitzky, investment specialist in Marcus & Millichap’s Tampa office, had the exclusive listing to market the property on behalf of the local seller, a private investor. The listing agents also procured the buyer of the property, a private investor based in Brandon, Fla.

Inca Drive Apartments were built in 1972 and are located at 8602 Inca Drive in Tampa, Fla. The property consists of four, one-story buildings situated on approximately 1.46 acres of land. The buildings are comprised of eight, two-bedroom/one-bathroom units with 800 rentable square feet. Most of the interiors of the units have been renovated with vinyl tile flooring or ceramic tile. The roofs on all buildings were replaced in 2013. Amenities include washer and dryer connections in all units.

"This property was an off-market transaction," says Teplitzky. "The property was attractive to the buyer since it was completely renovated within the last 18 months and the rents were under market by approximately $100. There was also over half an acre of developable land included in the sale."

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Monument Real Estate Services, LLC of Coral Gables has sold the apartment community Newport Square to Park Pointe Apartments, LLC a Tampa-based multifamily investment company.

Newport Square consisting of 188 units located at 5505 North Himes Avenue sold for $8.925 million and was the last part of a three property portfolio consisting of Newport Riverside and Newport Pointe which were purchased by a separate ownership group. The total portfolio consisted of 480 units and had to sales value of $19.15 million.

Newport Square, built in 1970, is located off North Himes Avenue and is situated on 9.45 acres with 11 buildings containing one, two, and three bedroom floor plans that average 1,181 square feet in size and $782 per month in rent. Amenities included a playground, clubhouse, laundry facility, wading pool and a swimming pool with a sun deck.

Hendricks-Berkadia’s Vice President Jason Stanton, based in Tampa, negotiated the transaction with partners Cole Whitaker and Hal Warren out of their Orlando office on behalf of the sellers.

Stanton said the new owner has planned a value-add program for the community to increase the overall quality of the units and the community’s curb appeal allowing for future revenue and occupancy increases.

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Marcus & Millichap, a leading commercial real estate investment services firm with offices throughout the United States and Canada, announced the sale of Citrus Grove Apartments, an 84-unit apartment property located in St. Petersburg, Fla., according to Richard D. Matricaria, regional manager of the firm’s Tampa office. The asset sold for $3,535,000.

The local buyer, a not-for-profit foundation, was secured and represented by Casey Babb, a CCIM and associate vice president investments in Marcus & Millichap’s Tampa office.

Citrus Grove Apartments is located at 731 15th Street South in St. Petersburg. The property is situated on 3.16 acres of land featuring mature landscaping, a secure, concrete block perimeter wall, stand-alone leasing office, laundry facilities and playground area. Units are housed in seven, three-story concrete block apartment buildings with pitched single roofs. The property was built in 1971, rehabbed between 2012 and 2013 and consists of a mix of one, two, three and four-bedroom apartments, featuring semi-private breezeway entries, fully appointed kitchens with electric appliances and individual window unit air-conditioning units.

"Citrus Grove is a local real estate success story. It has gone from a blighted, dangerous property with depressing living conditions in 2011, through a HUD driven change of ownership and extensive rehab between 2012 and 2013, and now another change of ownership has placed it back into the hands of a local not-for-profit ownership as a clean, safe and vibrant community," says Babb. "We are happy to have been involved in both sales and trust that the property is now under a much more capable owner/operator and in good hands for the long-term," adds Babb.

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Marcus & Millichap, a leading commercial real estate investment services firm with offices throughout the United States and Canada, announced the sale of 50th Avenue Apartments, a 12-unit apartment property located in St. Petersburg, Fla., according to Richard D. Matricaria, regional manager of the firm’s Tampa office. The asset sold for $415,000.

Ari Ravi, investment specialist, Casey Babb, a CCIM and associate vice president investments, and Luis Baez, senior associate in Marcus & Millichap’s Tampa office, had the exclusive listing to market the property on behalf of the local seller, an individual. The listing agents also procured the buyer of the property, a private investor based in Tampa.

50th Avenue Apartments are located at 2595 50th Avenue North in St. Petersburg. This Class "C," fully stabilized, garden-style apartment community is centrally located in St. Petersburg and consists of 11 one-bedroom/one-bathroom units and one, three-bedroom/one bathroom unit. The property was built in the 1950s and recently renovated in 2013 with roof work, exterior painting, newly paved driveways and interior improvements. Community amenities include a laundry facility and off-street parking.

"This particular asset was stabilized and yields a high return which was very appealing to the buyer," says Ravi. "The buyer paid all cash and the transaction closed in just over 30 days."

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Marcus & Millichap, a leading commercial real estate investment services firm with offices throughout the United States and Canada, announced the sale of 2002 Armenia Apartments, a 12-unit apartment property located in Tampa, Fla., according to Richard D. Matricaria, regional manager of the firm’s Tampa office. The asset sold for $505,000.

James Vestal, an investment specialist in Marcus & Millichap’s Tampa office, had the exclusive listing to market the property on behalf of the seller, a local private investor. Vestal also procured the buyer of the property, a private investor from Orlando.

Built in 1974, Armenia Apartments are located in the up and coming "Old West" Tampa neighborhood at 2002 North Armenia Avenue in Tampa. The property is situated on 0.44 acres and consists of 12 two-bedroom/one-bathroom apartments that are approximately 800 square feet.

"Old West Tampa is a great example of the reviving neighborhoods that sit adjacent to SOHO and Hyde Park," says Vestal. "We will continue to see a large demand for multifamily properties as those neighborhoods recover and thrive."

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Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services, the nation’s largest real estate investment services firm, has announced the sale of Grand Boulevard Apartments, an eight-unit apartment property located in Port Richey, Fla., according to Richard D. Matricaria, regional manager of the firm’s Tampa office. The asset sold for $400,000.

Jason Hague, an investment specialist, Michael Donaldson and Nicholas Meoli, senior associates, all in Marcus & Millichap’s Tampa office, had the exclusive listing to market the property on behalf of the seller, a local private investor. The listing agents procured the buyer of the property, an individual, based in Merritt Island, Fla.

Grand Boulevard Apartments was built in 1946 is located on the Cotee River at 7606 Grand Boulevard in Port Richey. The property is situated on approximately .49 acres of land and includes, four, one-story buildings comprised of a studio unit, five, one-bedroom/one bathroom units, a one-bedroom/one-bathroom cottage and a 1,200 rentable square foot, two-bedroom/one-bathroom house. Residents have access to an on-site laundry facility, a swimming pool and a dock that sits on the Cotee River.

"By emphasizing the strong location and desirable return of this asset throughout our national marketing campaign, we were able to generate numerous offers, which ultimately allowed us to close within twenty-one days from the executed contract date with a seasoned, out-of-the-area buyer," says Hague.

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Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services, a real estate investment services firm, has announced the sale of Eden Court Apartments, a 28-unit apartment property located in Tampa, Fla., according to Richard D. Matricaria, regional manager of the firm’s Tampa office. The asset sold for $1,245,000.

Francesco Carriera and Michael Regan, vice presidents investments, and Joshua Teplitzky, investment specialist in Marcus & Millichap’s Tampa office, had the exclusive listing to market the property on behalf of the seller, a private investor based in Connecticut. The listing agents also procured the buyer of the property a private investor from Delray Beach, Fla.

Eden Court Apartments was built in 1973 and is located at 3712 West Cass Street in Tampa. The property consists of two, two-story buildings comprising of 28, one-bedroom/one-bathroom units with 700 rentable square feet. The buildings were repainted and approximately 10 air-conditioning units were replaced. The interiors of 26 out of 28 units were completely renovated.

"We generated ten offers throughout the marketing process and received a large amount of interest from local South Tampa investors," says Teplitzky. "The two highest bidders were from South Florida and Canada."

"The availability of attractive financing really drove the top bidders over several strong cash offers," concludes Teplitzky.

Southeast Florida

Responding to the surging demand for professionally managed luxury apartment rentals, ZOM has broken ground on a 462-unit, 32-story luxury highrise apartment community in the epicenter of Miami’s Central Business District.

ZOM, a leading luxury multifamily real estate developer, recently closed on a land and air rights parcel within the Met 3 mixed use project and simultaneously commenced construction on Montage at Met 3. Montage will feature 462 apartment homes in an iconic 32-story luxury tower, which is being constructed over a ground-level Whole Foods grocery and 12 levels of structured podium parking. Met 3 is located at the northeast corner of SE Second Avenue and SE Third Street in the heart of downtown Miami and is walking distance to the Metromover. The project is a joint venture with an investor account advised by the U.S. real estate business of UBS Global Asset Management.

"The Met 3 site is an outstanding location and surrounded by employment, restaurants, nightlife and public transportation," said Greg West, ZOM’s Chief Development Officer. "The demographic characteristics of the immediate area, with the presence of more than 89,000 jobs within a three-mile radius, plus an upscale Whole Foods in our building, create a compelling case for the success of the Montage apartment project."

Reshaping the Miami skyline, Montage at Met 3 will feature efficient and well-appointed units in a variety of spacious, functional floor plans ranging from 680 to 1,450 square feet. The main amenity level on the 13th floor features a spacious open lounge area, fitness club-quality exercise center, spa with treatment rooms, screening room with theater-quality sound, as well as a landscaped deck surrounding a resort- style pool, yoga lawn, bocce ball court, outdoor grill and kitchen and two outdoor bars. This unique amenity level is intended to foster interaction among residents and provide a variety of social settings and activities without having to leave the community.

Montage will be the only professionally managed highrise rental development in the downtown market. Property management services will be provided by ZRS Management, LLC.

Suffolk Construction is the general contractor. Broad and Cassel represented ZOM in this transaction and Stearns Weaver represented the seller. Pre-leasing will commence in Q4 2015.

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ZOM, a leading luxury multifamily real estate developer, recently completed the purchase of the parking lot site at 80 SW Eighth Street. ZOM and its joint venture partner, AIG Global Real Estate, the real estate arm of insurer AIG, are finalizing plans to develop a 420-unit, 46-story luxury highrise in the heart of the booming Brickell neighborhood. The site is on the block between Swire's $1.05B Brickell CityCentre project and Mary Brickell Village.

This iconic tower will be directly across the street from a primary pedestrian entrance into Brickell CityCentre through which our residents will have an extraordinary covered walkway to Metro service. CityCentre will reportedly house over 500,000 square feet of shopping and dining contained under a multi-story open air covered plaza, shielded by a Climate Ribbon® designed to maximize air circulation, moderate temperatures and provide cover from the elements. This variety and intensity of retail lifestyle amenities within a two block walking radius of the ZOM site could be rivaled by very few major city locations in the U.S.

Residents can expect to enjoy the most expansive and cutting edge amenity-rich package in the market, delivering design- driven, high-finish living spaces.

"ZOM is excited to be partnering with AIG to build this project," said Greg West, ZOM’s Chief Development Officer. "Their vision for this project, coupled with their level of expertise, adds great value to the project’s development."

Ground breaking is scheduled for late Q4 2014.

Southwest Florida

Marcus & Millichap, a leading commercial real estate investment services firm with offices throughout the United States and Canada, announced the sale of Gardenia Gardens, a seven-unit apartment property located in Fort Myers, Fla., according to Richard D. Matricaria, regional manager of the firm’s Tampa office. The asset sold for $175,000.

Adam Podbelski, an associate in Marcus & Millichap’s Tampa office, had the exclusive listing to market the property on behalf of the seller, a limited liability company based in Georgia. Podbelski also procured the buyer of the property, a private investor from Miami.

Gardenia Gardens was built in 1974 and is centrally located at 4349 Armeda Avenue in Fort Myers. Situated on approximately a 0.30-acre lot, the concrete block structure contains seven, two-bedroom/one-bathroom units with approximately 780 rentable square feet.

"By collectively emphasizing Gardenia’s high return and the significant growth taking place in Lee County’s rental markets, we generated multiple offers from local and out-of-area buyers," says Podbelski. "As a result of our national marketing campaign, we were able to procure a cash buyer in just over thirty days and ultimately closed within twenty-six days of the executed contract date."