Pinellas Park apartments sell for $66 million amid strong multifamily demand

The Allure at Gateway, a 274-unit apartment complex in Pinellas Park that opened a year ago, has sold for $66 million to General Services Corp., a Richmond, Virginia-based apartment owner and manager.

The late September deal was one of several recent transactions in an active multifamily market in Pinellas County. The recent deals also include two Clearwater apartment communities — Estates at Countryside with 320 units and Lexington Club Apartments with 240 units — as well as smaller apartment buildings on Treasure Island.

“The demand for multifamily units remains very strong despite the current climate and even more so in the beach communities, for both long and short term rentals,” said Patrick Calhoon of Smith & Associates Real Estate. Calhoon and the Calhoon Commercial Group represented the sellers of the apartment complexes on the Isle of Capri in Treasure Island.

Here’s a look at the top apartment sales in September.

The Allure at Gateway opened in August 2019 and was one of six new apartment communities in Florida developed by The NRP Group, according to a news release. The market-rate community, with one-, two- and three-bedroom units, is located at 8851 U.S. Highway 19 N. An affiliate of General Services Corp., ALGF, was the buyer, according to a deed recorded Sept. 30 in Pinellas County. ALGF also recorded a mortgage with Berkeley Point Capital for $42.3 million.

GSC has several other local properties: The Grand Reserve at Park Isle in Clearwater, Madison at Largo, Aluna Largo, and Courtney at Bay Pines, as well as two apartment communities in Brandon.

Estates at Countryside at 2652 N. McMullen Booth Rd. sold for $56.7 million, a deed recorded Sept. 23 said. The seller was an affiliate of Sarasota-based Insula Companies. The buyer was McMullen Booth Fee Owner LLC, which assumed a loan that the seller had with Citibank for the property.

McMullen Booth Fee Owner is a newly established company that is part of TruAmerica Multifamily, a Los Angeles multifamily investor and operator. TruAmerica focuses on repositioning Class B apartment communities through renovations and asset management, according to its website. TruAmerica’s other local properties include Bayou Point in Pinellas Park, Four Lakes at Clearwater, Runaway Bay in Pinellas Park, and Twin Lakes in Palm Harbor.

Lexington Club, an adult community at 1200 S. Missouri Ave., sold for $21.7 million, a deed recorded Sept. 29 said. The seller, Lexington Club Owner LP, and the buyer, Lexington Club Preservation Ltd., share a mailing address in Santa Monica, California. The general partner of Lexington Club Preservation is Affordable Housing Institute Inc., a not-for-profit corporation with offices in Orlando and Charlotte, North Carolina that develops and participates with for-profit developers of multifamily affordable housing.

The waterfront Treasure Island apartments sold by Calhoon were smaller.

A 6-unit complex at 164 117^th Ave. sold for $1.3 million on Sept. 8. The buyer listed in Pinellas County records is HG Florida Holdings in Brooklyn, New York.

An 8-unit complex at 11955 3^rd St. E., with a mix of one- and two-bedroom units, sold for $1.15 million on July 8. The buyer was Playa Residence by Ross LLC, a Tampa company.

Both buildings are two stories and of block construction, with docks and boat slips, according to a news release. Calhoon, a 36-year real estate veteran, and Calhoon Commercial Group specialize in the sale of commercial and investment properties along the Pinellas County beaches as well as in all of Pinellas County.