$73.5M luxury apartment sale touted as a win for downtown Bradenton redevelopment efforts
A 302-unit luxury apartment complex in downtown Bradenton recently sold for an impressive $73.5 million.
Aria at Bradenton is located at 102 Manatee Ave. W., across the street from Manatee Memorial Hospital, on the former site of the Bradenton Herald.
“That’s strong money, and it shows the demand and appetite for downtown rentals. It is an endorsement of the downtown Bradenton market. It shows that people want to live there. It’s a very strong statement for the city,” said Tim C. Davis, principal with SVN | Alliance Commercial Real Estate Advisors, based in Ormond Beach.
The sale price works out to $245,000 per apartment unit. A provision of the sale includes a prohibition against converting the apartment units into condominiums.
Washington, D.C.-based CRP NRP Bradenton Owner LLC, sold Aria Bradenton to SW1 Aria Owner LLC, according to filings with the Manatee County Clerk of Court’s Office recorded May 17.
SW1 Aria Owner LLC, which has offices in St. Petersburg, also has a $49 million mortgage for the property with Equitable Financial Life Insurance Company of New York, according to filings with the clerk’s office.
In 2013, the Bradenton Herald vacated the 9.2-acre property and moved to its current location at 1111 Third Ave. W.
A year later, Jupiter-based Bradenton Landco LLC bought the property for $3,362,000.
In 2018, CRP NRP Bradenton Owner LLC bought the property for $7.2 million and announced plans to build what became Aria Bradenton.
Those plans called for two four-story buildings fronting on Manatee Avenue West and two fronting on Third Avenue West.
The center of the complex includes another four-story residential unit, the clubhouse, a pool and a large pond.
Kurt Kehoe, vice president of the NRP Group, at the time called the property the most visible and best real estate in Bradenton.
“We’ve been wanting to develop in Bradenton due to the changing demographics and job growth and this particular property came available in what we feel is the best economic scale that we need for walkability, proximity to Riverwalk and all of the other amenities of downtown Bradenton,” Kehoe previously said.
City officials enthusiastically greeted plans to develop the former newspaper property.
“This is the final piece,” Carl Callahan, Bradenton’s economic development director, said in 2019 of plans to construct what was initially called Allure of Bradenton.
Callahan was referring to extensive downtown revitalization efforts, including the Bradenton Riverwalk, the eight-story SpringHill Suites hotel with its rooftop bar overlooking the Manatee River, and the $13.8 million City Centre parking garage, that also includes Manatee Chamber of Commerce offices and ground-level commercial space.
Aria Bradenton fits into the city’s vision of transforming First Street into a more livable city street, Catherine Hartley, former planning and community development director, previously said of the project.
“This project is an amazing addition to the city’s core and will provide much-needed housing for people who work at the hospital and downtown, or those who just want to live in proximity to all the wonderful destinations and amenities the city has to offer,” Hartley previously said.
In recent years, apartments have been hot commodities. In 2017, some of Manatee County’s largest property transactions were for apartments:
▪ The 360-unit Echo Lake Apartments at Lakewood Ranch, 11502 Echo Lake Circle, sold for more than $76 million.
▪ The 376-unit Champions Walk apartment complex, 4148 53rd Ave. W., sold for $58 million.
▪ The 264-unit Lost Creek at Lakewood Ranch, 11140 Lost Creek Terrace, sold for $50,500,000.
For more information about Aria Bradenton, visit https://www.ariabradenton.com/.
