Tampa Multifamily Converting to Student Housing

(Save the date: RealShare Industrial 2012 comes to The Bankers Club, Miami, December 5 - 6.)

TAMPA, FL—In the latest multifamily conversion, Sun Pointe Lake, a student housing community, has traded hands for $14.27 million. The sale price equals $40,771 per unit and $79.94 per square foot.

Bob Goldfinger, Darron Kattan, and Kevin Kelleher, all of Franklin Street, represented both parties in the transaction. The seller was a Miami-based private client and the buyer was a student housing operator based in Alabama.

Goldfinger tells GlobeSt.com there is a lot of conversation about multifamily conversions to student housing because universities tend to have developed the immediate surroundings many years ago. But the size of this transaction makes this deal unique.

“The University of South Florida (USF) in specific has seen a fair amount of significant redevelopment in the last five years, in spite of the economic downturn,” Goldfinger says. “USF was traditionally a commuter school, but in the last 10 to 15 years has been transformed to a more traditional major university style community and surrounding area.”

The student housing operator saw an opportunity to redevelop this apartment community into a fully furnished, master metered student property. Goldfinger says the buyer will spend “significant capital dollars” to modernize the property so it can compete with newer construction multifamily communities around USF.

“This signals a huge demand for student housing around USF,” Goldfinger says. “ One-bedroom units in the area are virtually full, and all the fully furnished, utility-included student-oriented properties are near capacity. Being walking distance to campus, or a close bus ride in, adds tremendous value for developers looking to build new or redevelop old housing.”

Built in 1981, Sun Pointe Lake is located at 14200 Bruce B. Downs Boulevard. The 350-unit student housing community sits on about 21 acres. The property was built with concrete block construction and masonry stucco exterior walls. All units are one-bedroom, one-bathroom at 510 square feet. Units are also master metered for Heating Ventilation and Air Conditioning, electric, water, and sewer. The student housing property also includes three resort-style pools and high-speed Internet access.

“The fact that the property was already master metered for electric and water and sewer makes this a natural redevelopment,” Goldfinger says. “The all one-bedroom unit mix also makes this desirable. New construction tends to be four-bedroom units that will make the construction economies much more palatable. Since this property already exists and is being bought well below replacement cost, it allows the buyer to provide a one-bedroom floorplan at a competitive price.”