Investors buy Sarasota apartment complex for $70.5M

A New York-based investment firm on Tuesday acquired the Tuscany Apartments on University Parkway in Sarasota for $70.55 million.

The purchase of the 386-unit complex by TGM Associates marks its second Sarasota acquisition since 2014. In August of that year, TGM bought the TGM Palm Aire apartments, also just off University Parkway. Since then, the company has boosted revenue there by nearly 17% and net operating income by more than 11%, says John Gochberg, the company's CEO and co-founder.

In all, TGM owns a handful of apartment communities along the Gulf Coast. Most recently, the company last month acquired the Ibis Walk apartments, in St. Petersburg, for $68 million.

The three-story apartment buildings at the Tuscany are 96.4% occupied, Gochberg says. The complex features a host of amenities, including a nine-hole putting green, lighted tennis courts, a pair of swimming pools, a Wi-Fi cafe, a fitness center and grilling areas. Rents in the complex range from $1,115 to $1,930 monthly, according to the complex's website.

The property will be renamed TGM University Park. As it did with Palm Aire, TGM plans a "very large" capital campaign to update units and features at the complex.

"We look forward to re-positioning Tuscany in a similar manner as Palm Aire," Gochberg says.

He adds that TGM was attracted to the complex because of the area's job growth and because of the lack of new rental development along University Parkway.

"There's no new competition on University Parkway at Interstate 75," Gochberg says. "And unlike Tuscany, what is being built is not conducive to the eat, work, play lifestyle that people want, at a time when people are still moving to the area and there are more jobs."

Prior to the sale, the 6001 Medici Court complex had been managed by Merion Residential.