National real estate investment firm BlueRock Real Estate spent $183.5 million this week for two value-add apartment properties in Orlando totaling 1,042 units, giving it three acquisitions in the region within the past month.
The company paid $97.5 million for the 532-unit Arium Hunter’s Creek apartments, reflecting a value of $183,270 per unit. Located at 13300 Colony Square Dr., the 28.85-acre property features 60 two-story walk-up apartment buildings in the style of duplex homes, the majority built in 1999.
It also paid $86 million for the 510-unit Arium MetroWest ($168,627 per unit), which covers 44.4 acres at 2454 Lake Debra Dr., with 29 three-story buildings that date to 2002.
The deals closed on Monday and were recorded Wednesday in Orange County.
“Orlando is the no. 1 market in the country for job growth,” which with a high correlation of job growth to apartment demand drew BlueRock to invest, spokesman Josh Hoffman told GrowthSpotter.
Both properties will offer some value-add opportunity by way of interior unit renovations, he added.
The sellers were affiliates of Atlanta-based Carroll Organization, which previously paid $81.55 million for the Hunter’s Creek property in December 2015, and $69.375 million for the MetroWest asset that same month.
Carroll will be retained as property manager for both sites.
The buyer assumed the seller’s outstanding mortgage balance of $57.085 million and borrowed another $15.209 million from Walker & Dunlop to help finance the Hunter’s Creek deal, all of which will mature in November 2024.
BlueRock also borrowed another $40.625 million from Key Bank to finance the MetroWest acquisition.
BlueRock owns office, multifamily, retail and development projects across the country. These will be its sixth and seventh multifamily assets in Greater Orlando at the moment, two of which are other Arium properties in which it has operating partnerships with Carroll.
BlueRock’s Residential Growth REIT also purchased the 336-unit Citrus Tower apartments in Clermont in late September for $55.25 million, or roughly $164,435 per unit.
The company sold in December 2016 the EOS Apartments near UCF, which it developed in 2014 through a JV with Catalyst Development Partners.
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