St. Pete hospital among the largest Pinellas County real estate deals of 2020

The multifamily real estate sector was red hot in Pinellas County this year.

Eleven apartment communities sold for $50 million or more during 2020.

The deals included the first local purchase by St. Petersburg-based Stoneweg US, a real estate investment and development firm, which paid $114 million for the 688-unit Trellis at the Lakes apartments.

It was the largest single commercial real estate purchase in Pinellas County in 2020.

However, a package of acquisitions by Orlando Health, the non-profit health system that bought Bayfront Health St. Petersburg on Sept. 30, had a larger combined price. OHI West, an entity associated with Orlando Health, bought the hospital building at 701 6th St. S., for $86.28 million. Orlando Health also bought 13 other properties associated with Bayfront, bringing the total purchase price to $147 million.

Bayfront, with 480 beds, is the largest hospital in St. Petersburg, and the deal made Orlando Health one of the largest property owners in Pinellas County.

Fast-growth market

Overall, the Tampa-St. Petersburg multifamily sector appears to have regained much of the momentum it had prior to the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, according to a Nov. 23 report from CoStar Analytics.

Nationally, apartment properties have moderated in price appreciation since February, but there are regional disparities, Wells Fargo Securities said in a Dec. 14 report.

“Fast-growing apartment markets which have seen robust job and population growth over the past decade are generally outperforming the dense and less affordable global gateway markets. For example, apartment prices in Tampa, Phoenix and Nashville are up over 10 percent over the year, while New York and Chicago apartment valuations have slumped,” Wells Fargo said.

Trellis at the Lakes

Trellis at the Lakes, the top-priced apartment sale in Pinellas County in 2020, is at 11401 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. St. N., near large employers such as Jabil (NYSE: JBL) and Raymond James Financial (NYSE: RJF).

“Trellis is truly unique as it is within minutes of several Fortune 500 Companies but still offers a low-density atmosphere, which we expect will become even more desirable to residents moving forward,” Ryan Reyes, chief investment officer for Stoneweg US, said in a news release.

Stoneweg worked with Hartford Investment Management Company on the $114 million deal for Trellis.

The next 10 largest commercial real estate transactions in Pinellas County in 2020 also were apartment deals.

Cortland Bayside, a 360-unit apartment complex at 19355 U.S. Highway 19 N. in Clearwater. Cortland, an Atlanta-based multifamily real estate firm, paid $104.2 million in a deal that closed Nov. 5.

Bayside Arbors, a 436-unit apartment complex at 2729 Seville Blvd. in Clearwater. The Connor Group in Dayton, Ohio bought the complex for $93.25 million on Dec. 15.

The Allure at Gateway, with 274 units at 8851 U.S. Highway 19 N. in Pinellas Park, sold for $66 million to General Services Corp. in Richmond, Virginia on Sept. 25.

Promenade at Carillon, a 334-unit apartment community in the Carillon Business Park. Starlight U.S. Multi-Family, an investment vehicle for Starlight Investments, paid $64.1 million for the property on Jan. 8.

Dunedin Commons, a 280-unit apartment community at 2701 Dunedin Commons Place, sold for $62.5 million to Westdale Asset Management Ltd. on Feb. 18.

Brittany Bay Apartments, with 568 units at 1201 Seminole Blvd. in Largo, sold for $61.34 million on Feb. 4 to Seminole Boulevard Apartments LLC in Tampa.

Madison Place, with 456 units at 2690 Drew St. in Clearwater, sold for $57.58 million on Dec. 15 to Infinity the Standard, an entity associated with Infinity Acquisitions and Infinity BH Real Estate Investments in Surfside, Florida.

Estates at Countryside, a 320-unit complex at 2652 N. McMullen Booth Rd. sold for $56.7 million on Sept. 21 to TruAmerica Multifamily, a Los Angeles multifamily investor and operator.

Woodland Key Apartments, a 416-unit complex at 2770 Roosevelt Blvd. in Clearwater sold on July 16 for $55.75 million. The buyer was Ashcroft Capital, a national multi-family investment firm headquartered in New York

Gull Harbor at 17105 Gulf Blvd. N. sold for $55 million on Oct. 27. The buyer, General Services Corp., bought 237 units of the 263-unit property.