TAMPA, FL-Woodland Group of South Florida Inc., based in West Palm Beach, has acquired the four-property, 846-unit, 95%-occupied Wynnton apartment portfolio from Georgia-based H & G Limited Partnership for $45.25 million or $53,486 per unit.

After 8.5 years of ownership, H & G decided to sell because it was "unwinding an older partnership; favorable market conditions; and its investment strategy when it first bought the properties," Darron Kattan, a senior associate and multifamily specialist with the locally based Meyer Kattan Group of Marcus & Millichap, tells GlobeSt.com.

Kattan says the portfolio was sold below replacement cost because of its age, its physical and operational condition and the location of the properties. These factors "held back the pricing," the broker says.

The properties were built from 1969 to 1973. They are the Grandview, 305 Glades Circle, Largo; Palm View Apartments, 2680 54th Ave. S., St. Petersburg; Granada Apartments, 7015 N. 56th St., Hillsborough County; and Plantation Apartments, 10605 N. 56th St., Temple Terrace. The overall asking monthly rent range is $700 per unit.

The portfolio was on the market for 30 days with about a dozen written offers submitted, Kattan tells GlobeSt.com. The transaction took 90 days to complete, from contract signing to closing. Several environmental, governmental and financial challenges had to be overcome before the deal closed. Kattan tells GlobeSt.com that among the challenges were "a cross-collateralized loan that had to be defeased; significant deferred maintenance at a few of the properties; poor trailing net operating income due to mismanagement; an environmental situation that occurred after removed contingencies but before we closed; and some code violations at one of the properties."

Brokers Evan Kristol and Still Hunter of Marcus & Millichap's Fort Lauderdale office brought the buyer to the seller. Kattan, Andrew Wright and Jeff Meyer, all of the Meyer Kattan Group, negotiated for the seller.

"The sale marks the continued influx of South Florida capital into the Tampa marketplace," Kattan tells GlobeSt.com. He says the buyer plans "significant renovations" at all four properties but "there are no immediate plans to convert" the apartment units. Kattan adds, "The buyer is already being solicited by condo converters on a couple of the properties."