Channel district apartment tower sold for $88 million
By Ashley Gurbal Kritzer
Tampa Bay Business Journal
Published: Nov 18, 2016

One of downtown Tampa's newest apartment towers has a new owner.

Skyhouse Channelside, which wrapped up completion in 2015, sold for $88 million to a corporate entity tied to Yonkers, New York-based AVR Realty, according to public records.

The seller was Atlanta-based Novare Group, which has built Skyhouse-branded apartment towers throughout the U.S.

At 323 apartments, the deal breaks down to $272,445 per unit - pricing that is in line with Tampa's luxury apartment market. The highest priced apartment property to trade in recent years was 2 Bayshore, then Crescent Bayshore, which sold for more than $300,000 per unit.

The sales price shows that the investors see potential upside in the Tampa market. Downtown luxury properties consistently command rents of more than $2 per square foot, and rents almost always rise after a property is sold.

A one-bedroom, 679-square-foot apartment on the sixth floor of Skyhouse is currently listed at $1,641 per month on the property's website.

AVR secured a $57.7 million mortgage, according to property records.

Novare Group listed the property for sale in November 2015.

Skyhouse Channelside has ground-floor retail space, some of which is still vacant. District Tavern, a bar and restaurant, occupies 2,850 square feet on the ground floor.

Ashley Gurbal Kritzer is senior reporter for the Tampa Bay Business Journal.