FORT MYERS, FL—The Brittany Apartments has commanded $10.35 million in a hard-hit Fort Myers real estate market. The sales price equates to $32,344 per unit or $32 per square foot.

Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services negotiated the sale of the 320-unit multifamily tax-credit property. Jeffrey Meyer, a vice president investments in M&M’s Tampa office, and Shahar Ziv, an associate in the firm’s San Diego office, represented the seller, a Fort Myers-based development group. Meyer and Ziv also represented the buyer, a private investor from the Tampa Bay area.

“Tax credit deals weren't the core business of the operator who sold Brittany Apartments,” Meyer tells GlobeSt.com. “The firm develops commercial, hospitality, and market rate multifamily. So for them it was an anomaly. It made sense when the right buyer came on the scene to exit.”

Brittany Apartments is located near Florida Gulf Coast University, which was one of the buyer’s points of attraction. Meyer says the expiration of the initial tax-credit compliance period in 2015 and the ongoing recovery of southwest Florida from the depths of the real estate recession were also factors. The asset is 85% occupied and sits on 18.7 acres at 4050 Winkler Avenue Extension.

The Brittany Apartments’ concrete block construction was completed in two phases. Phase I, which offers 208 units, was constructed in 1999. Phase II, totaling 112 units was built in 2001. The complex features 27 buildings.

“It was pretty ugly in Fort Myers for a while,” Meyer says. “The investor who bought this deal is extremely savvy and very interested in getting into the Fort Meyers market. Serious investores with capacity started to sense about a year ago that it was time to get back into Fort Meyers on the part of serious investors with capacity.”