Vista at Palma Sola in Bradenton sells for $43M
BRADENTON -- For the second time in as many weeks, a massive Bradenton-area apartment complex has sold at a big profit for a short-term owner.
On Dec. 21, a Los Angeles company purchased the Vista at Palma Sola Apartments, a 340-unit, multi-building complex on 75th Street West, for $43 million. The seller, a subsidiary of Glenview, Ill. Providence Management Company, had owned the property for 18 months. The company bought the apartments in April 2013 for $27 million.
The real estate transaction was the second largest in Manatee County in 2015, second only to another apartment complex sale that closed just six days earlier. On Dec. 15, TGM Associates of New York, N.Y. sold its TGM Yacht Club Apartments in Heritage Harbour for $70.5 million to another national apartment owner. The transaction earned TGM a $27 million gain on the property, which it bought in 2010.
Tenants at Vista at Palma Sola were notified of the sale two weeks ago. The complex sits on 24 acres between 75th Street W. and Palma Sola Boulevard. Amenities at the 23-building property include tennis courts, a swimming pool, a clubhouse and a fitness facility.
The sale comes as the multi-family sector in Florida and nationwide has become profitable for building owners. Tim Becker, the director of the Bergstrom Center for Real Estate Studies at the University of Florida, said demand for rental housing has skyrocketed since the recession. As a result, market rents are at historic highs.
The average asking rent for a two-bedroom apartment in Sarasota County was about $1,170 at the end of September, according to commercial real estate information provider CoStar. In Manatee County, the figure was $1,060.
Those rents are generating huge income and huge value in multi-family properties, Becker said. With rising interest rates expected to make buying into these properties more expensive for investors, they are buying in now. At the same time, some multi-family owners are selling at a time they believe they can make the biggest gains, even if it means cutting their ownership terms short.
"They probably looked it and said 'there's never a time I'm going to get a bigger return,'" Becker said.
Property management at Vista at Palma Sola did not respond to a request to comment on the change in ownership.
According to Manatee County records, Vista at Palma Sola's new owner is a company managed by Chaim M. Freeman, a Los Angeles resident.
Providence Management Co. still owns nine multifamily complexes in Florida, located in Tampa, Pensacola and Tallahassee. Its multifamily portfolio is spread across four states.
Matt M. Johnson, Herald business reporter, can be reached at 941-745-7027 or on Twitter@MattAtBradenton.
This story was originally published January 12, 2016 at 4:02 PM with the headline "Vista at Palma Sola in Bradenton sells for $43M ."