Centennial Holding Co. buys second Tampa apartment

BUYER: Centennial Cross Creek LLC (Centennial Real Estate Fund IV LP), Atlanta
SELLER: Canterbury Gardens LLC (parcel I) and Canterbury Gardens Phase II LLC(parcel II)
PROPERTY: 10821 Cross Creek Blvd., Tampa
PRICE: $38.4 million
PREVIOUS PRICE: $4.7 million, April 2005 and $600,000, September 2013
LAW FIRM ON DEED: Green & Piotrikowski PLLC, Miami Beach

PLANS, DESCRIPTION:
Atlanta-based Centennial Holding Co. LLC purchased the 297-unit The Gardens At Cross Creek apartments for $38.4 million.

The price equated to $129,293 per unit. That figure is higher than the two-year average price per unit for multifamily space ($72,609) in the Tampa Bay area, according to the CoStar Group.

The gated community features 13 residential buildings and a clubhouse on a 48.8-acre parcel. It was built in two phases in 2008 and 2014. Amenities include four ponds, a fitness club, business center, clubhouse, tennis court, playground, dog park and car care center.

The apartment complex was 96.6% occupied as of March 31.

The property was under contract earlier this year to another buyer, but that sale never culminated.

“There was a motivated seller,” says Bronson Smith, director of acquisitions and dispositions for Centennial Holding. “We provided the seller with the surety that we would close. We felt that with our expertise on the operational side that we could find efficiencies...”

Along with the price, Smith says, the firm was also attracted by the property's location in a fast growing area of Tampa.

The new owner is planning upgrades to many of the units, including new bathroom lighting, ceiling fans and hardwood floors and fencing in the backyards for several of the ground floor units.

The community is being renamed Century Cross Creek.

The Gardens At Cross Creek is Centennial Holding's second Tampa apartment purchase. It acquired the 273-unit Citrus Falls Apartments last year for $35.25 million.

The purchase entity, Centennial Cross Creek LLC, mortgaged the property to KeyBank NA for $30.51 million.