JV Purchases Tampa-Area Apartments
Bridge Investment Group and Gravel Road Partners acquired a more than 300-unit community.
A joint venture between Gravel Road Partners and Bridge Investment Group has acquired Oasis at Bayside, a 304-unit apartment community in Largo, Fla., a suburb of Tampa-St. Petersburg near Clearwater. The community traded for $42.2 million.
The deal was structured as a public-private partnership between the JV, Pinellas County and the Housing Finance Authority of Pinellas County. The new ownership is working with Pinellas County to preserve affordability for residents earning between 50 and 80 percent of the Area Median Income in 85 percent of the property.
The community, located at 305 Glades Circle, offers one-, two- and three-bedroom units ranging from 650 to 1,100 square feet. Oasis at Bayside has both partially renovated and fully renovated units available, with such features as granite countertops and stainless steel appliances.
Common-area amenities include a pool, fitness center, dog park, sports court, picnic area, playground, and laundry facility. The property is currently 93.8 percent occupied, down from 95.4 percent a year ago, according to Yardi Matrix data.
The community is relatively close to major employment hubs in the region, including St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport, TD SYNNEX, Carillon Office Park, HCA Florida Largo Hospital and HCA Florida Largo West Hospital.
“Investor interest in Tampa Bay remains strong as population growth, business development and absorption of new supply continues to grow,” Senior Managing Director of Berkadia South Florida, Jason Stanton, told Multi-Housing News. “All of these factors are strengthening market fundamentals making Tampa Bay a high demand market for apartment investors.”
Stanton, along with Berkadia Central & North Florida, represented the seller, Latitude Management Real Estate Holdings of Beverly Hills, Calif.
The last time the community traded hands, Latitude Management acquired it in 2018 for $32.5 million from MLG Capital, according to Yardi Matrix. MLG Capital bought the property, which was originally developed in 1974, for $23.1 million in 2016.
Greater Tampa stays strong
Demand for apartments in greater Tampa is still strong, with the occupancy rate in stabilized properties up 30 basis points for the quarter, to 94.5 percent, at the end of 2024. Developers are also still building in Tampa-St. Pete at a healthy clip, with 11,129 units—or 4.3 percent of existing stock—delivered in 2024, outpacing the national average by 130 basis points.
Demand for affordable housing is strong as well. The city of Tampa estimates that nearly 40 percent of Tampa residents are housing cost-burdened, with more than 30 percent of their monthly gross income going toward housing. Rents in greater Tampa-St. Petersburg surged in the early 2020s, as they did in much of the nation, topping at 1.2 percent quarter-over-quarter growth in the third quarter 2022. As of the last quarter of 2024, the market eked out a 0.2 percent quarter-over-quarter increase in rents, Yardi Matrix reports.
