ORLANDO-Making its second off-campus housing property acquisition in Florida in the last three months, a Newtown Square, PA-based GMH Communities Trust division has acquired the 21-building, 312-unit Pegasus Connection community near the University of Central Florida in east Orange County for $48.5 million. The price for the 93.3%-leased, 930-bed property equates to $155,449 per unit or $52,151 per bed.

In July, GMH's College Park Communities, paid $33.3 million for Seminole Suites, an 11-building, 924-bed, 264-unit property near Florida State University in Tallahassee. That price represented $126,136 per unit or $36,039 per bed, as GlobeSt.com previously reported.

In February, American Campus Communities of Austin, TX paid Tallahassee-based University Club Development Corp. $53.9 million for five North Florida properties totaling 1,656 beds. That transaction equated to $119,955 per unit or $32,307 per bed.

Although the GMH unit paid the highest price of the year to date, based on a per-bed and per-unit cost, College Park Communities president Joseph M. Coyle says the acquisition "reflects our goal of identifying quality assets that represent excellent value and fit the lifestyles that today's college students are demanding." Coyle's representative declined to disclose the corporate name of the seller. The property is at 11841 Jefferson Common's Circle.

GMH divisions already manage several other student housing properties owned by a foundation affiliated with the university, Coyle says in a prepared statement. College Park Management, another GMH division, will continue to manage Pegasus Connection. Coyle says GMH plans to place a mortgage for about $29.9 million on the property in the next several months.

CB Richard Ellis Inc. represented the seller. GMH represented itself. The deal took 45 days to complete, from contract signing to closing. The property was on the market for 60 days.