Bell Partners Spends $66M on Tampa Apartment Complex

By Nicholas Ziegler, News Editor

In a solid rental market that’s dropped below 5 percent vacancy, Bell Partners has made a significant buy. The firm has just purchased the 422-unit Seaport Channelside apartments in Tampa for $66 million, bringing its total portfolio in the city to four properties. The new owner plans to rename the property Bell Channelside and will take over management duties.

The purchase was made through a group of Bell-sponsored individual investors as well as Crow Holdings. Cushman & Wakefield Inc. represented the seller.

The asset was most recently managed by Synergy Partners, which began construction on the property in 2007. The 450,000-square-foot mid-rise complex was completed in 2008.

Joe Cannon, Bell’s vice president of investments, called the asset a “high-profile, unique property in a vibrant Florida city.” He went on to discuss his firm’s acquisition strategy of finding high-quality apartments in the Mid-Atlantic, Southwest and Southeast. The U.S. Multi-Housing Council ranks Bell as the 10th largest apartment management firm in the United States, with 227 properties nationwide.

The Tampa area is primed for growth in the multi-family sector, according to a year-end 2011 report by Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services Inc. With a second consecutive year of job growth, demand for rental housing should increase throughout the year. “Class A vacancy in Hillsborough and Pinellas counties dipped to the low 5 percent range last year, well below historical norms,” the report noted. “Additional declines in vacancy are difficult to achieve, but significant rent increases are clearly attainable for many operators.”

The property, a six-story building wrapped around a parking garage, is located on 6.7 acres and was 94.3 percent occupied at the time of sale.