Tampa investors sell off West River Flats for more than $22 million
By Ashley Gurbal Kritzer
Tampa Bay Business Journal
Published: Nov 16, 2020

A Tampa investment firm focused on properties in and around the downtown area has sold off an apartment complex for $22.16 million.

Urban Core Holdings LLC has sold West River Flats, a 135-unit complex that's a popular housing choice for University of Tampa students, to Clearwater-based Otto Investment Group. Otto purchased the property with a German investor.

West River Flats was in severe disrepair when Urban Core Holdings first toured the property: There was raw sewage in some of the apartments and the roofs were bad. But principal Omar Garcia saw past the mess to the property's good bones, and Urban Core paid $3.55 million for it in December 2014.

The sales price breaks down to $164,185 per unit; when Urban Core bought the property, the price per unit was $26,000.

"We paid $26,000 a unit for concrete block," Garcia previously told the Tampa Bay Business Journal. "They were selling stuff in Suitcase City by USF for more than that."

The investors completed a full renovation of West River Flats, with one-, two- and three-bedroom units as well as a swimming pool, oversized pool deck, fenced dog park and large courtyards. It was built in 1962.

"When we read about the city of Tampa’s InVision plan for the West River area, we knew that it was going to have a significant transformation," Garcia said in a statement. "The expansion of the Riverwalk, the redevelopment of Julian Lane park, as well as other riverfront areas so close to Tampa’s downtown made West River Flats the perfect place to develop our vision of urban core living at an affordable price.”

A team of brokers from CBRE Group Inc. — Cameron Barbas, Francesco Carriera and Michael Regan — represented Urban Core Holdings in the transaction.

“West River Flats traded at one of the highest prices per unit for a 1960s vintage asset in the last 15 years and at the third highest price per unit for the MSA, as well as the second highest individual property transaction for all Florida markets outside of the South Florida MSA for its vintage," Barbas said in a statement. "This is a testament to the tremendous change the West Tampa submarket has undergone."