Cushman & Wakefield Arranges $29M for FL Community

Ocala, Fla.—Cushman & Wakefield has negotiated the sale of Tuscany Place, a value-add Central Florida multifamily apartment community. The 288-unit, 13-building, garden-style apartment property in Ocala, Fla., is 20 years old and offers a blend of one-, two- and three-bedroom units averaging 1,126 square feet in size and fetching rents of $858 per month.

An average six percent rent increase has been procured by ownership at renewal. That exceeds the Ocala market’s 4.4 percent rent growth over the past half year.

“We have a long-standing relationship with the ownership group going back 20 years,” Jay Ballard, senior director of the Capital Markets Multifamily Advisory Group with Cushman & Wakefield in Orlando, told MHN. “They have owned the property since 1997. Because of our long-standing history with them, and our experience in the Ocala market, they felt we would be able to handle the sale of the asset.”

Residences offer nine or 10-foot-high ceilings throughout, crown molding, chair rail, patios or balconies, Roman tubs, walk-in closets, ceiling fans, frost-free refrigerators with ice makers, self-cleaning ovens, dishwashers, garbage disposals, built-in digital microwaves, ceramic tile entries and detached garages with remote. Some apartments feature full-size washer/dryers, built-in entertainment centers and vanity area.

Among the many amenities offered by Tuscany Place are a resort-style pool, heated Jacuzzi, lake and wooded views, pet walk, playground, barbecue grills, resident business center, 24-hour fitness center, lighted tennis court, professional landscaping, jogging path, 24-hour laundry center, two-car wash areas with vacuums and two VIP guest suites.

The primary challenge the team faced was a bit of post-election interest rate volatility, said Ballard’s partner, Senior Director Ken Delvillar. “We had already solicited offers and were going through the process of selection. It was really important that the group purchasing the property had sound underwriting and a little room to absorb the rate volatility.”

Located on a 19-acre site at 3420 SW 34^th Street, Tuscany Place is only one mile east of I-75. The community provides excellent access to the biggest shopping and job centers in Ocala. They include Paddock Mall, Paddock Park Medical Center, Paddock Park Professional Center, Market Street Mall at Heath Brook, College of Central Florida, Monroe Regional Medical Center and Ocala Regional Medical Center.

“Tuscany Place offered investors the opportunity to acquire an extraordinary value-add asset,” Ballard said.

“The Ocala multifamily market continues to exhibit strong rent growth. New ownership can capture its share of that growth by implementing a proven renovation strategy at the property.”

The transaction was simply a matter of, Ballard said, “normal marketing of the asset. Ocala is a secondary market in Florida, it’s not very large and we’d sold deals in that market in the recent past. We knew where rents were, and knew the prices that could be supported.”