Insula Companies Acquires Four Florida Apartment Communities

By Andie Lowenstein, Associate Editor

Sarasota, Fla.—Insula Companies, a Sarasota, Fla.-based firm focusing on apartment community acquisition and revitalization on behalf of investors, acquired four apartment communities in two separate transactions to start off 2015. The deals marked the 20^th for Insula Companies since its entry to the Florida market in 2009, and the firm’s first venture into Pinellas County.

Bryan Dairy Place in Largo

“With these recent entries into our growing portfolio, we continue our mission of making tangible improvements to yield substantial returns for our private investors,” said Fred Cochran, President of Insula Companies. “We are thrilled to enter the Pinellas and Pasco market, where we welcome the opportunity to bring exceptional results to the apartment communities we enhance and manage.”

The acquisitions include the 136-unit Rivermill Apartments at 12429 Little Road in Hudson for $5 million and the 92-unit Village Square Apartments at 7110 Tudor Lane in Port Richey for $4.2 million. Insula plans a combined $1.4 million renovation to reposition both properties. Also acquired were 104-unit Forest Creek Apartments in Largo for $7.6 million and the 96-unit Bryan Dairy Place Apartments, also in Largo, for $9 million.

Rivermill Apartments in Hudson

Insula Companies pursues only communities considered to have the best future value for investors, with a portfolio of properties in Tampa Bay, Georgia, Orlando, Jacksonville, Lakeland and throughout Southwest Florida. The criteria to qualify for an acquisition is as follows: a community must be a class B or C property with a minimum of 150 units, 15 to 40 years old, present value-added potential through cosmetic or substantial rehabilitation work, and have market-related and/or management induced challenges.