Westside Capital Group moves ahead with apartment expansion in Winter Haven

Miami-based real estate investment holding firm Westside Capital Group is progressing on a planned $25 million apartment project in Winter Haven.

The company just announced it scored the necessary approvals from the city to move ahead with a 190-unit multifamily community on the southeast corner of 14th Street Southwest and South Lake Howard Drive.

In 2018, GrowthSpotter reported on Westside’s plans to rezone the property. At the time, the developer was seeking to build up to 130 units.

Westside purchased the 3.72-acre property and an adjacent 35-year-old apartment building in 2017 for a total of $4.45 million, meaning the firm owns about 5.3 acres located between Lake Howard and Lake Mary.

The five-story apartment building, called Lakeshore Club, consists of 50 units featuring up to three bedrooms and averaging about 1,225 square feet. Community amenities include a fitness center, pool and clubhouse.

The developer completed a full-scale property repositioning that included adding a new roof and elevator, installing new building systems and significantly updating the common areas and lobby. Westside also revamped the interior units and improved security systems by adding cameras and gated parking.

Now that renovations are complete, Westside may move forward with the adjacent apartment development.

“We see Winter Haven as a growing market with outsized demographic growth relative to the underlying supply of new housing,” Westside founder and president, Jakub Hejl, said.

He claims Winter Haven needs additional modern apartment housing that is “attractively priced, but also offers the standard, comfort and amenities that residents demand and new development could offer.”

According to a press release, Westside anticipates breaking ground on the apartment development during the course of 2021.

The company recently secured a $7.5 million loan to refinance Lakeshore Club. Berkadia director Charles Foschini arranged the 10-year loan from Fannie Mae.

It is the third time this year that Berkadia has secured Fannie Mae financing for Westside-owned properties.

In April, Berkadia arranged financing for the recapitalization of Creekwood Club, a 176-unit apartment and townhome community in Jacksonville; and Terraces on the Square, an 82-unit multifamily community in Port St. Lucie.

In Orlando, Westside is in the midst of planning a $1 billion mixed-use development in Orlando’s Rosemont neighborhood. Hejl recently made his plans to develop “high-end residences and retail” on a shuttered 128-acre golf course public at a community meeting covered by GrowthSpotter.

Last month, the firm paid $45 million for the mixed-use Residences at Veranda Park project in Orlando’s MetroWest neighborhood. The five-story building at 2121 S. Hiawassee Rd. features 150 luxury apartments and 48,385 square feet of commercial leasable space on the ground floor.

Have a tip about Central Florida development? Contact me at arabines@GrowthSpotter.com or (407) 420-5427, or tweet me at @amanda_rabines. Follow GrowthSpotter on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.