Northland Investment Corp. buys Bay Breeze apartments

BUYER: Northland Bay Breeze LLC (officers: Lawrence Gottesdiener, Steven Rosenthal, Suzanne Abair and Beth Kinsley), Newton, Mass.
SELLER: Bay Breeze Sonesta LLC
PROPERTY: 16001 Bayside Pointe, Fort Myers
PRICE: $24.15 million
PREVIOUS PRICE: $13.58 million, June 2010
LAW FIRM ON DEED: Hunton & Williams LLP, Richmond, Vir.

PLANS, DESCRIPTION:
Newton, Mass.-based real estate investment company Northland Investment Corp. purchased the 180-unit Bay Breeze apartments for $24.15 million.

The price equated to $134,167 per unit. That figure is higher than the average price per unit for multifamily space ($70,191) in Southwest Florida, according to the CoStar Group.

Now called the Bay Breeze Apartment Homes, the 30-acre gated property features 23 two-story, concrete block buildings with one-, two- and three-bedroom units. The 211,979-square-foot garden-style community was built in 1999 and 2000. Amenities include a heated swimming pool, clubhouse, tennis and volleyball courts, boat/RV storage, a walking and nature trail, fitness center and 9-acre stocked lake.

Units average 1,207 square feet, according to the real estate research firm Costar Group.

The seller, an affiliate of Tampa-based DeBartolo Development LLC purchased the apartment complex, known as ay Breeze Villas, in 2010 when its occupancy was just 76% with plans to freshen its look and institute professional management.

Northland Investment had not replied to requests for comment prior to deadline.

As of late June, Northland Investment reported it owned 86 multifamily properties with more than 20,000 multifamily units and 18 million square feet in ten states. Northland's portfolio also includes more than 1.6 million square feet of office, retail and commercial assets. Northland manages six real estate investment funds. Its local assets include Monterra at Bonita Springs in Bonita Springs; Ashlar Apartment Homes, Bay Harbor Luxury Waterfront Apartments, Iona Lakes Apartment Homes and The Promenade at Reflection Lakes in Fort Myers; Bel Air in St. Petersburg; and The Commons in Tampa.

The purchase entity, Northland Bay Breeze LLC, mortgaged the property to CBRE Multifamily Capital Inc. for $18.1 million.