SEPG Acquires Florida Community

Located in Port Richey, Fla., the former Live Port Coral property has been rebranded as Coral Key Apartments. Image courtesy of Southeast Property Group

Southeast Property Group has closed its purchase of an apartment community in the Pasco County, Fla., city of Port Richey, some 30 miles north of Tampa. Formerly known as Live Port Coral, the property is being rebranded as Coral Key Apartments.

The 80-unit apartment community, which was completed in 2020, is located at 9920 Grace Drive. SEPG plans to renovate unit interiors and enhance and expand the property’s onsite amenities and common areas. An overall beautification effort, designed to enhance the community’s curb appeal, will also be undertaken.

SEPG faced a series challenges in closing the deal, Joe Rubin, principal at SEPG, told Multi-Housing News.

“We first went under contract in June of last year,” said Rubin. “Then the seller called us and said they had a title issue, and it took them several months to resolve it.  As we were waiting, the debt market totally changed on us. The deal didn’t hit our return metrics any longer. But we negotiated for a price reduction and moved ahead.”

However, this was hardly the last hurdle the buyer would face. “We got things back on track, and then the hurricane came in and the insurance market imploded,” said Rubin. “We had to be very creative in coming up with a solution and negotiated with the seller to stay on their master policy to keep our insurance costs in line.”

Finally, Rubin said, SEPG had to return to the marketplace and raise new equity after its equity provider negotiated different terms.

“We got re-traded,” Rubin said. “We had to raise new equity at the same time banks were collapsing and fear (was) growing. How did we get over that? By persevering and leveraging relationships and turning every stone we could.”

Rubin declined to disclose the identity of the seller.

Flurry of activity in Pasco County

All units in Coral Key Apartments are two-bedroom, one-bath configurations. Features and finishes include screened-in patios and porches, as well as granite countertops and additional storage in select units. “The courtyard pool is a top amenity and we will renovate to add an expanded deck with new pavers and a summer kitchen,” Rubin said. “We will also add a dog park.”

Coral Key Apartments is a half-mile from major commercial entities like Home Depot, Best Buy, Starbucks and Chipotle, he added. A major Lennar Homes development located nearby will bring tens of thousands of homes, along with 26 million square feet of office and retail space. Meanwhile, Moffett Cancer Center has plans to add 14,500 new jobs to Pasco County. In June, LIV Development broke ground on a new community in Pasco County.