PETERSBURG, FL - Admiral Capital Group and ESG Kullen announced the sale of Trellis at the Lakes, a 688-unit multifamily property in St. Petersburg, Florida, in the Tampa MSA.
Admiral and ESG acquired the apartment community for $80.9 million in September 2016 through a joint venture. The investment provided an opportunity to purchase a well-located asset at a discount to replacement cost and provide a value housing alternative to the growing workforce in one of the top growth markets in the U.S. The asset was sold for $114 million, representing an increase of over 40% in value.
During its ownership, the joint venture set to improve the aesthetics and overall experience for tenants. The partnership renamed and repositioned the property through exterior enhancements by curing deferred maintenance and upgrading interiors. Improvements included construction of a new state-of-the-art fitness center, pool area enhancements, new outdoor kitchens, other amenity upgrades and landscaping across the property. Interior renovations included upgrading countertops, modernizing kitchens with new cabinets, appliances and flooring and bathrooms. The upgrades and improvements enhanced the offering to potential tenants providing a high-quality, cost-effective alternative to newer nearby assets with higher overall rents.
"Identifying under-capitalized assets in markets with a supply and demand imbalance has been a critical part of our growth and success in the multifamily space," said Dan Bassichis, co-founder of Admiral. "With its strong fundamentals and accelerating job and population growth, Tampa has been a key market for Admiral, and this property was an ideal fit for executing our value-add investment strategy. We couldn't be more pleased with the execution with ESG Kullen."
Trellis is Admiral's second asset in Tampa. Nationally, Admiral has acquired over 12,800 multifamily units, 1.8 million square feet of office, 790,000 square feet of retail and 900 hotel keys. Trellis at the Lakes was Admiral's first of two acquisitions with ESG Kullen. Admiral also partnered with ESG to purchase a fractured condominium property in Orlando.
"The Trellis sale is particularly exciting to us as it validates our Florida re-positioning thesis which focuses on design, value, sustainability and engagement," said ESG Kullen principal, Eric Granowsky. "We still see outsized performance in Central Florida as population growth, projected jobs growth and supply/demand fundamentals continue to support strong multifamily absorption and look forward to replicating this success with Admiral and share its commitment to strengthening communities across the country."