Blue Rock Premier Properties Acquires $700M Florida Portfolio

The Park at Trapani

Tampa, Fla.—Blue Rock Premier Properties LLC has acquired ownership and management of a $700 million Florida apartment portfolio. The portfolio consists of 29 prime communities with more than 8,000 units. The newly-formed Blue Rock Premier Properties acquired the portfolio from Blue Rock Partners LLC. Blue Rock Premier Properties also closed the purchase of a $48 million, 532-unit apartment portfolio in Jacksonville, Fla.

“We believe Jacksonville is an emerging market and is developing many economic drivers, making this an attractive market to invest in multifamily assets,” Randy Ferreira, CPM and principal owner of Blue Rock Premier Properties, told MHN.

Tampa-based Blue Rock Premier Properties is led by Ferreira, exclusively together with long-time partner Konover South LLC, based in Deerfield Beach. An internal rate of return above 20 percent is anticipated.

The company’s four current markets rank among the nation’s top regions for annual rent growth and employment outlook. Its newest properties provide strong value appeal within the Southside submarket of Jacksonville.

The newest communities, which combined average 95 percent occupancy, are the 284-unit Landmark at Hampshire Place, at 10023 Belle Rive Blvd. and the 248-unit Landmark at Sage Commons, at 8401 Southside Blvd.

The communities will be rebranded and marketed as The Park at Potenza and The Park at Trapani, respectively. A $3.4 million interior and exterior upgrade project will soon be underway. State-of-the-art fitness centers, Internet cafes and upgraded landscaping will be among the improvements.

The transaction was brokered by Dhaval Patel of CBRE Investment Properties. Landmark was the seller, and Wells Fargo provided debt financing for the purchase.

When considering purchasing the property, Ferreira said, “The positives were to develop a critical mass of properties located in the same submarket which produces more economy of scale for operations. There were no real minuses, just a need to be prudent not to have too many assets in the same submarket in case of softness in the individual market.”

Blue Rock Premier Properties learned there were several bidders. “Pricing is always a factor but we have also established a long track record for surety of closing on properties we put under contract,” Ferreira said.

Three Jacksonville communities were purchased five months ago: Madison at Bay Pointe, Madison at Savannah Oaks and Madison at Spring Woods. These communities have been rebranded and marketed as The Park at Avelino, The Park at Marbella and The Park at Via Veneto, respectively.

“Blue Rock Premier Properties is aggressively pursuing select value-add product throughout Florida, with as many as 3,000 units in the pipeline for 2016 and beyond,” Ferreira said.

Led by CEO David Coppa, Konover South is a fully-integrated acquisition, development and management company operating throughout the southeastern United States.