San Diego apartment management firm buys Tampa complex

TAMPA -- A San Diego-based apartment management firm has added its second property in the Tampa Bay region, buying the Arbor Walk Apartments in Tampa from DeBartolo Development LLC.

Fairfield Residential, through its affiliate Fairfield Arbor Walk LLC, bought the 230-unit property at 4121 E. Busch Blvd. for $22.2 million, or $96,500 per unit. That represents a 16% return for DeBartolo, the Tampa real estate company that bought the property because of its significant discount to replacement cost.

DeBartolo's discounts at the time were 26% to replacement cost, and 50% to the previous ownership's all-in basis, the company said at the time. The apartment community was named Oxford Walk when it was built, and is within a five-mile radius of more than 5,000 businesses and two business parks near Busch Gardens and the University of South Florida's main campus.

DeBartolo was founded by the late Edward DeBartolo Sr. It's now led by his son, Edward DeBartolo Jr., who once owned the San Francisco 49ers and the Pittsburgh Penguins, and has a net worth of $3.4 billion, according to Forbes magazine.

Fairfield owns 10 properties in Florida, including the Preserve at Mobbly Bay at 8210 Solano Bay Loop in Tampa. The company purchased that complex in January 2014 for $33.8 million, or $107,000 per unit.

The Arbor Walk sale was financed through a $15.5 million mortgage through BB&T Real Estate Funding.