TAMPA, FL-Gainesville-based the Collier Cos. has purchased the 252-unit Lakeview Oaks apartment community at 14201 Cyber Place on the east side of North 37th Street for $24 million. The deal totals $95,238 per unit.

The seller was 14250 Realty Associates. Eric Ammon and Brad Suddath, of locally based JBM Realty Advisors, represented the seller in the transaction. Lakeview is a class A, garden-style community built in 1997, which had favorable financing under a HUD 221 (d)(4) loan assumption. Under provisions of the HUD loan, the property must be kept as a rental community until June 2008, Ammon tells GlobeSt.com.

The property consists of 11 three-story, wood-frame residential buildings with barrel tile roofs. The complex contains 24 one-bedroom, one-bathroom units that are 844 sf and rent for $799; 120 two-bedroom, two-bathroom units that are 1,076 sf and rent for $899; 20 two-bedroom, two-bathroom units that are 1,124 sf and rent for $925 and 88 three-bedroom, three-bathroom units that are 1,354 sf and rent for $1,200. The building is 98% occupied.

Ammon says that the seller sold the property to take advantage of strong market conditions. He adds that the buyer was looking to add to its portfolio in Tampa. "This was an attractive property because of the location and the quality of the property," Ammon says.

Due to the growing population and healthy economy, Tampa's apartment market has remained strong. The market consists of 155,748 units within 671 communities, with the core county being Hillsborough. Despite the addition of over 22,000 units in the past six years, occupancy remains high, never falling below 94%, according to a sales brochure on the property.