Atlanta-based multifamily investment firm Centennial Holding Company paid $42.84 million on Oct. 5 for the 252-unit Crest at Millenia apartments north of Artegon Marketplace and the tourism corridor, and is raising a new investment fund that could target more acquisitions in Orlando, a lead executive with the company told GrowthSpotter.
It’s the company’s third asset in Greater Orlando that will operate under its Century apartments brand. The investment breaks down as $170,000 per unit.
“Central Florida has been phenomenal for us operationally speaking,” said Bronson Smith, director of acquisitions and dispositions, on Oct. 11. The company now owns six Class A apartment properties between Tampa and Orlando.
“Crest at Millenia was the last acquisition of our Centennial Real Estate Fund IV,” he continued. “We’re now raising a $250 million-equity fifth fund. The exact amount we’d target for Central Florida is undecided, but based on past performance and our current portfolio there, Orlando and Tampa are areas we’d continue to invest in.”
Located at 5100 Millenia Waters Dr., the 9.1-acre property features seven three-story apartment buildings that were completed in 2015, with a mix of one-, two- and three-bedroom units.
The property was sold by LMC Millenia Holdings LLC, an affiliate of Lennar Multifamily, which previously paid $5.039 million in May 2014 for the property.
The community was immediately rebranded as Century Millenia, with Centennial’s affiliate First Communities Management, Inc., taking over as property manager.
The company took out a mortgage worth a combined $31.3 million to finance the acquisition from co-lenders American General Life Insurance Company and American Home Assurance Company, subsidiaries of AIG. The terms on both promissory notes call for last payment due by November 2023, with potential extension to November 2028.
Centennial favors Class A properties built within the past 10 years for acquisition that require minimal value-add investment, Smith said.
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