An affiliate of New York-based Blackstone Group, one of the world’s largest private equity firms, just picked up the Integra Cove apartments near SeaWorld for $70.75 million.
The deal for the 338-unit apartment complex at 6801 Westwood Blvd. beaks down to about $209,300 per unit. According to a deed recorded in Orange County Tuesday, the seller is an affiliate of the New York-based private real estate investment firm, Praedium Group.
The five-building multifamily projects previously sold in 2016 for $60.4 million. It sits on a nearly 14.5-acre lot on the southeast corner of Central Florida Parkway and Interstate 4, less than a mile from SeaWorld.
Last year, an affiliate of Bluerock Residential Growth REIT paid $62.85 million for a recently built 268-unit apartment complex next door.
Integra Cove was completed in 2015 by Integra Land Co., after the development firm paid $6.72 million for the land in 2014. The company is in the midst of wrapping up construction on its 300-unit class A apartment complex in Sunrise City. It’s also exercising the option to buy another 41 acres in the community.
Its Integra Cove development consists of a mix of one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments. Amenities at the complex include a 24-hour fitness studio, a clubroom, pool with grilling stations, billiards room, electric car charging stations, outdoor televisions and fireplaces and pet spa.
Officials at Blackstone and Praedium did not respond to requests for comment.
The private equity heavyweight closed a deal with Praedium Group in 2015 to acquire about 11,000 apartment units managed by Livcor, its Chicago-based multifamily portfolio company. That deal was valued at about $1.7 billion for 36 apartment properties primarily in California, Washington D.C. and Boston.
Blackstone continues to double down on the commercial property sector. According to recent reports, the company is closing its largest private-equity real estate fund to date – a $20 billion investment vehicle with about $60 billion in buying power.
The fund is expected to close in the first quarter of 2019.
The company has invested in numerous multifamily properties throughout Central Florida. Those properties include the 396-unit Knightsbridge at Stoneybrook apartments in east Orange County, a 105-bed senior living facility in Ocoee, the 461-unit mixed-use tower in Downtown Orlando and the 432-unit Estates at Park Avenue in MetroWest.
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