Phoenix firm buys Sarasota manufactured home communities for $165 million

SARASOTA — Cove Communities of Phoenix has acquired a pair of Sarasota County manufactured home communities for a combined $165 million, property records show.

The communities, Camelot Lakes Village and Camelot East Village, were purchased last month from entities controlled by the Ben & Catherine Ivy Foundation, of Scottsdale, Ariz.

Camelot Lakes is a 119-acre community located between Gantt Road and Interstate 75, developed beginning in 1981. The 534-home community contains amenities such as a clubhouse and swimming pools, together with shuffleboard and tennis courts.

Camelot East Village, a 105-acre community, is located north of Clark Road and east of I-75. The 434-home community was also developed beginning in 1981 and contains a similar set of amenities for residents.

Camelot Lakes, at 5700 Camelot Lakes Parkway, sold for $90.77 million. Camelot East, at 6300 Queensbury Blvd., was purchased for $74.225 million, property records show.

“They’re very much a fit with the quality and culture of properties that we’re interested in,” says Joyce Mireault, Cove Communities’ vice president of marketing. “It’s truly resort-style living in both communities, with a lot of activities and amenities on site.”

The acquisitions bring to nine the number of manufactured home developments Cove Communities owns in Florida. In addition to Sarasota, the company also holds projects in Leesburg, Ocala, Tarpon Springs, Ruskin, Deland and Melbourne Beach, according to its website.

In addition to Florida, the company owns manufactured or mobile home communities in New England and Canada. In all, Cove Communities’ portfolio contains 20 properties.

Mireault adds that Cove Communities is expected to invest significantly to enhance both Sarasota projects in the coming months.

The Ben & Catherine Ivy Foundation had owned the two Camelot communities since May 2006, when it merged with another entity that had an ownership stake in the properties.

The foundation traces its roots to late 2005, after Ben Ivy, a celebrated real estate investor, financial planner and investment advisor, died following a four-month battle with brain cancer.

His wife, Catherine, established the foundation with the goal of eradicating brain cancer within a decade.

To date, the foundation has made grants of more than $91 million to various medical institutions and researchers in the hope of developing better treatments or a cure, its website states.

Catherine Ivy could not be reached for comment.