New York firm buys Avalon Square Apartments in Bradenton for $8.5M
BRADENTON -- A New York investment firm has added a Bradenton apartment complex to its growing multi-family inventory in Florida.
A subsidiary of New York-based Axonic Capital purchased the 154-unit Avalon Square Apartments on Oct. 14 for $8.5 million. The sale is the second for the 40-year-old complex since the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. foreclosed on the property in May 2011.
According to county property records, the price Axonic paid was more than double what the seller paid four years ago. The seller is a company managed by James Slattery of Sarasota. Slattery also manages JSLAT Properties, according to state corporate records.
Jonathan Shechtman, the portfolio manager for Axonic's residential assets fund, said Avalon Square will be added to more than 1,000 multifamily units the company owns in Florida. He said the complex is the only one the company owns in the Bradenton area.
Shechtman declined to comment on the occupancy rate of Avalon Square or any plans his company might have to update the property.
How long the company owns the property may depend on the market.
"We are opportunistic in all of our endeavors," Shechtman said.
Apartment buildings in Manatee County have gained value as investments over the past five years. During that period, rental rates have risen steadily as vacancy has generally fallen. The county's multifamily vacancy rate hit 3 percent in the second quarter of 2015, according to statistics compiled by Coldwell Banker Commercial NRT's Sarasota Office. That is below the five-year average of 4.6 percent.
Apartments sold for an average of $31,944 per unit during the quarter. Axonic paid just over $55,000 per unit at Avalon Square.
According to apartment rental website Apartments.com, Avalon Square offers a mix of units from studios to three-bedroom apartments. Rental rates in the 13-building complex range from $600 to $895 per month.
Amenities at the complex include an onsite laundromat, a pool and tennis courts.
Matt M. Johnson, Herald business reporter, can be reached at 941-745-7027 or on Twitter @MattAtBradenton.
This story was originally published October 20, 2015 at 11:48 PM with the headline "New York firm buys Avalon Square Apartments in Bradenton for $8.5M ."