Marking the second multifamily asset near Champions Gate to change hands this summer for a high dollar amount, the newly-opened Indigo Champions Ridge in Davenport has sold for $100 million — or $333,3333 per unit.
Virginia-based Middleburg Communities, which has acquired 20,000 apartments and executed over $2.5 billion in transactions since 2005, closed on the sale of the 300-unit luxury housing community Friday. It’s the company’s first foray into the Orlando market.
“We are pleased to enter the Orlando market with the acquisition of Indigo Champions Ridge, one of the area’s premier multifamily communities,” Chris Finlay, CEO of Middleburg Communities, said in a news release about the sale. “We leveraged our proprietary data, research and analytics platform to study the market and are very bullish on its long-term fundamentals. We look forward to utilizing our proven operating platform to unlock value for our investors and deliver an exceptional living experience for our residents.”
Adam Bieber of Bellwether Enterprise structured the joint-venture between Middleburg and private equity real estate investment management firm Stockbridge. The financing for the deal was provided by Synovus Bank in the form of a $59 million mortgage.
The sellers ? Georgia-based Red Clay Development Partners and Georgia-based commercial real estate firm Atlantic Residential ? were represented by national commercial and multifamily brokerage firm Berkadia. This is the second apartment deal the company has brokered in the ChampionsGate submarket in the past three months.
In May, Atlanta-based ECI Group bought the 250-unit Verso Luxury Apartments on County Road 532 at Echelon Way for $85.5 million. That purchase price breaks down to $342,000 per unit.
The high selling points are indicative of the surge in demand for multifamily units and the increasing cost of rent in a submarket that continues to grow, said Brett Moss, managing director with Berkadia.
“Values do continue to increase and I think they are directly correlated to rent,” he told GrowthSpotter. “But I don’t think there’s a better supply and demand story if you’re going to be betting on organic rent growth than the I-4 corridor. That Davenport, ChampionsGate area just seems to be the biggest beneficiary of continued and sustained population and employment growth.”
The site is within the Four Corners Town Center DRI is in the heart of one of the region’s busiest distribution hubs with thousands of warehouse jobs. The property sits just 15 minutes from Disney World and Universal Orlando, approximately 30 minutes from downtown Orlando and Lakeland, and less than one hour from Tampa.
There’s a lot of room for more growth along Polk’s County stretch of I-4 due to the availabity of land, he said.
“I think you’re going to see continued residential development, both in the for-sale and for-rent sectors,” he said. “I think it will be a good mix of traditional apartments, and I think you’ll see a lot of build-to-rent stuff as well.”
During the early planning stage of the Indigo Champions Ridge project, Red Clay principal Jack Misiura told GrowthSpotter his company’s apartments would be more affordable than similar multifamily developments going north into Kissimmee, Celebration and Lake Buena Vista.
“You’re really only 10-15 minutes from the Disney employment area,” Misiura said in 2019. “There’s been a lot of growth and we think that in the ChampionsGate area you can provide housing at more reasonable rents than you can as you get farther north.”
After the sale, Misiura told GrowthSpotter the company is looking forward to expanding its presence in the Orlando area and is actively engaged on potential land deals for new construction.
“We feel that the sale price reflects the continued strength of and positive outlook for the Orlando apartment market,” he said.
Located at 1005 Champions Ridge Drive, Indigo Champions Ridge is a three-story garden-style community offering one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments averaging 787 square feet to 1,340 square feet.
Individual units feature fully-equipped kitchens with stainless-steel and energy-efficient appliances, luxurious granite countertops with undermount sinks, chef-style kitchen faucets, designer pendant lighting, wood-inspired flooring, stand-up glass showers and soaking tubs, oversized closets with plentiful storage, and expansive private balconies and patios.
Rent ranges from $1,715 to $2,115, according to apartments.com.
Have a tip about Central Florida development? Contact me at (407)-800-1161 or dwyatt@GrowthSpotter.com, or tweet me at @DustinWyattGS. Follow GrowthSpotter on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
