982-unit apartment complex sold near Tampa; sale secured by $207M mortgage

A 982-unit apartment complex has changed hands in a deal secured by a $207 million mortgage.

According to Cushman & Wakefield, which represented both parties in the deal, the Reserve at Brandon is the second largest multifamily building in Tampa Bay. Only Lake Carlton Arms in Lutz, with 1912 units, is bigger.

Nick Meoli, executive managing director at Cushman & Wakefield, says the complex was built in three phases between 1991 and 2002 and has been partially renovated. It was 95% occupied at the time of sale.

The buyer is ZMR Capital in Tampa, which bought it from NorthEnd Equities and Residential Management. NorthEnd paid $123 million for the property in 2019.

The complex includes one-, two- and three-bedroom units ranging from 630 square feet to 1,200 square feet. Rent was not listed on the property’s site April 8. In its stead was a note asking interested parties to “call for pricing.”

Berkadia, according to a press release, arranged an 80% five-year, floating-rate bridge loan for the deal through MF1 Capital.

Neither Berkadia nor Cushman & Wakefield would confirm the sale price nor had the sale posted on the county’s property records website as of April 8. But according to county records, a mortgage for $207 million was issued March 31 to 1918 Plantation Key Owner LLC.

The address for the LLC matches ZMR’s and 1918 Plantation Key Circle is the address for the Reserve at Brandon.

On its website, ZMR describes itself as an “opportunistic real estate investment firm focused on the acquisition and re-development of value-add multifamily assets in primary” and lists more than 30 properties in its portfolio. The properties are mostly in Florida, Arizona, Georgia and Texas.