TAMPA, FL – Cushman & Wakefield has arranged the sale of a 132-unit, garden-style block-construction apartment community in Gainesville, Florida, for $8.8 million, or approximately $67,000 per unit.
Executive Director Nick Meoli and Executive Director Mike Donaldson, with Cushman & Wakefield’s Florida Multifamily Investment Sales Team, represented the seller, Stratford Management. The buyer is Saddle Rock Partners.
Built in 1979, the community is situated on 6.5 acres at 310 SW 23rd St. in Gainesville’s University South submarket. Previously called Saddle Creek Townhomes, the buyer will rebrand the property to Hamlet Cove Apartments.
The property was 97% occupied at time of sale. Units average 581 square feet with average market rents at $666.
In the last year, the seller implemented a $1.1 million+ capital improvement program, which included a full exterior renovation and upgrades to onsite amenities. These upgrades include a newly marcited swimming pool with paver sundeck and new fencing, a newly updated laundry room, new lush landscaping with water features throughout the property and a new standalone leasing office. Other amenities include a fitness center and maintenance room. Additionally, 15 of the 132 units have been fully renovated with stainless steel appliances, granite countertops, new cabinets and hardware, updated lighting and plumbing fixtures and vinyl plank flooring.
“This property represented a unique opportunity to acquire a value-add asset that has recently undergone a significant renovation and provides additional upside potential,” said Meoli. “With the 15 updated units achieving a more than $200 rent premium, the buyer now has the ability to increase the effective income by 51% by completing interior renovations for the remaining units.
Added Donaldson, “Located in a ‘B’ class submarket minutes from the University of Florida and Gainesville’s premier shopping district of Butler Plaza, the location has strong fundamentals and pent-up demand for market-rate, renovated, one-bedroom apartments.”
Cushman & Wakefield’s Florida Multifamily Team is directed by Robert Given and includes Meoli and Donaldson as well as Luis Elorza and Brad Capas in West-Central Florida; Jay Ballard and Ken Delvillar in Central Florida; and Zachary Sackley, Troy Ballard, Calum Weaver, Errol Blumer, Neal Victor, James Quinn and Perry Synanidis in South Florida. Robert Kaplan, Chris Lentz and Mark Rutherford facilitate debt, equity and structured finance for the team throughout Florida.
About Cushman & Wakefield: Cushman & Wakefield (NYSE: CWK) is a leading global real estate services firm that delivers exceptional value for real estate occupiers and owners. Cushman & Wakefield is among the largest real estate services firms with approximately 51,000 employees in 400 offices and 70 countries. In 2018, the firm had revenue of $8.2 billion across core services of property, facilities and project management, leasing, capital markets, valuation and other services. To learn more, visit www.cushmanwakefield.com or follow @CushWake on Twitter.