Laramar Group, Lubert-Adler buy South Tampa's The Cove

BUYER: Westshore Cove Apartments LLC (principal: M. Marc Jason), Chicago
SELLER: LBCMT 2007-C3 Westshore Boulevard LLC
PROPERTY: 4003 S. Westshore Blvd., Tampa
PRICE: $53.03 million
PREVIOUS PRICE: $61.05 million, July 2005
LAW FIRM ON DEED: Bilzin Sumberg Baena Price & Axelrod LLP, Miami

PLANS, DESCRIPTION:
Chicago's The Laramar Group and Philadelphia-based real estate investment company Lubert-Adler Partners LP purchased the 689-unit The Cove apartments for $53.03 million.

The price equated to $76,959 per unit. That figure is higher than the average price per unit ($70,803) for multifamily space in the Tampa Bay area, according to the CoStar Group.

Constructed in 1979, the apartment features 49 buildings on a 22.67-acre site adjacent to the bay. According to marketing information, the South Tampa development was 97.5% occupied at the end of January. A former owner upgraded 622 of the 689 units. In addition, the exteriors have been updated with stucco and Hardie board and painted. The roofs were last replaced in 2008.

Amenities include a fitness center, clubhouse, fishing pier, tennis and basketball courts and three swimming pools. Eighty of the units have canal or bay views.

The seller, an affiliate of LNR Partners LLC, took over ownership of the property in May 2011 as part of the bankruptcy reorganization by the property's previous owner, Westshore Cove Acquisition Group LLC.

The acquisition marks The Laramar Group's return to the property. It owned it from 1999 to 2005, before selling it to Westshore Cove Acquisition Group LLC.

Byron Moger of Cushman and Wakefield represented the seller. The property was sold in an online auction through Auction.com.

The purchase entity, Westshore Cove Apartments LLC, mortgaged the property to Starwood Mortgage Capital LLC for $42.6 million.

Started in 1989, The Laramar Group is a real estate investment and property management firm, which specializes in managing and acquiring multifamily housing. Locally its owns or manages Arbor Lakes in Tampa, Bay Park in Clearwater, Snell Isle in St. Petersburg and Trinity Palms in Trinity.