Balcara, PCCP To Build Tampa SFR Community

Balcara at Southshore Bay, a 196-unit single-family for-rent community in the Tampa area, is set to be developed by Balcara Group and PCCP. Located at 17160 Auburn Arch Loop in Wimauma, Fla., the community will rise in Tampa’s Hillsborough County.

The first set of deliveries—to be built by Lennar—are expected in August. The homes will be constructed on 35.4 acres within the 680-acre Southshore Bay Master Plan Community.

Balcara at Southshore Bay will be comprised of single-family, two-story attached townhomes. It will feature: 52 two-bedroom homes totaling 1,372 square feet; 72 three-bedrooms totaling 1,534 square feet; 36 three-bedroom units with 1,654 square feet; and 36 four-bedroom units comprising 1,663 square feet.

All homes will feature two and a half-bathrooms and one- to two-car garages. Community amenities will include Balcara Lodge, an approximately 2,900-square-foot building with a leasing center, as well as social rooms, a gym, a pool, a pool cabana, a dog park and a playground.

Residents will be located five miles east of Interstate 75, the major north/south thoroughfare on Florida’s west coast. Downtown Tampa is about a 30-minute drive, and St. Petersburg is 45 minutes away.

Balcara at Southshore Bay isn’t Balcara Group’s first SFR community in the area. In October of last year, the company opened build-to-rent community Balcara 301 at Sun City. The property consists of 120 townhomes with either two or three bedroom layouts. Amenities include a dog park, playground and a pool. It is located on Sun City Boulevard near Highway US 301.

Tampa’s fundamentals are sunny

Zvi Gordon, CEO of Gazit Horizons, told Multi-Housing News that Tampa is becoming a desirable market to live in considering investment into the area’s retail, dining, multifamily and entertainment options, alongside new amenities.

“The major investments in the center of Tampa, along the waterfront, have made the city a hot spot for residents and businesses,” he said.

Further, Tampa has benefited from the state’s population gains and increasing income levels despite hurricane and climate risk, according to Moody’s Economist, Mary Le.

“The metro’s diverse job market, which includes technology, healthcare, logistics, and financial services, has been growing at a well above average rate,” she told MHN. “The information sector, which typically offers higher salaries, rose by 5.1 percent over the year, showing resilience and appeal.”

Multifamily fundamentals, on the other hand, are more of a mixed bag. Asking rents there dipped 0.3 percent on a trailing three-month basis through September, according to Yardi Matrix. On a year-over-year basis, they declined 2.3 percent. But there is a thriving development pipeline in the area to consider.

“The demand for build-to-rent communities in and around Tampa is growing rapidly, and we recognize the critical need for experienced partners to bring these developments to life,” Jason Esposito, CEO of Center Park Group, told MHN.

The company currently has nearly 500 units in the design process in Tampa and more in the pipeline, Esposito noted.