South Carolina firm with $800M multifamily portfolio enters market with splashy acquisition

TAMPA — A newly formed affiliate of Charleston, S.C.-based property investment firm Blaze Partners LLC has acquired Nine15, a 23-story, 362-unit luxury apartment building at 915 N. Franklin St. in downtown Tampa. 

The deal, according to a press release, closed on Feb. 28. Price and other terms of the transaction were not disclosed. 

The acquisition is the first for Blaze Partners in the Tampa Bay area, the release states. The company’s rental housing portfolio in the Carolinas, Georgia, Florida and Texas is valued at approximately $800 million. It has made $300 million in acquisitions in just the past six months. 

"We are thrilled with the acquisition of Nine15, a remarkable asset in the heart of one of the most transformational nodes in Tampa," states Chris Riley, Blaze’s co-founder and managing partner, in the release. "This transaction marks a continuation of our acquisition strategy focused on acquiring recently developed, Class A communities in dynamic submarkets within the premier growth markets throughout the Sun Belt. We are actively building our pipeline and continue to have a healthy capital appetite for the right opportunities.”

Nine15’s amenities, the release states, include a state-of-the-art fitness center, rooftop pool, penthouse skylounge and 9,000 square feet of ground-floor restaurants and retail. 

"We are excited about establishing our footprint in Tampa and looking forward to continuing to expand our presence here as we look for unique opportunities that present an attractive risk-return dynamic," adds Eddy O'Brien, Blaze’s other co-founder and managing partner, in the release. "To have our first investment be a deal of this profile and magnitude exemplifies our long-term bullish outlook on the region and belief in the vitality of the downtown transformation."