Apartments under construction in downtown Tampa sell for $124 million
By Ashley Gurbal Kritzer
Tampa Bay Business Journal
Published: Apr 29, 2022

A midrise apartment building with street-level retail in downtown Tampa has sold for $124.67 million — months before the first residents move in.

Mill Creek Residential, the developer of Modera Tampa, sold the property to New York-based RXR Realty in a deal that closed April 8, according to a deed filed this week in Hillsborough County. RXR secured a $54.34 million mortgage from SPT Real Estate Capital LLC, according to county records.

The property is under construction near the David A. Straz Jr. Center for Performing Arts on what was previously a 2-acre surface parking lot for the Tampa Bay Times building. It includes 15,000 square feet of commercial space — and those storefronts have already landed a few tenants, including St. Petersburg's Flatbread and Butter.

Move-ins are slated to begin in June, according to the property's website. The complex, now known as Ave Tampa Riverwalk, has 353 apartments. The sales price breaks down to $353,173 per unit, which is in line with other recently sold new properties in and around downtown Tampa.

The sale is the latest in a string of major apartment transactions in the Tampa Bay area. As the region sees an influx of new residents, demand for housing is soaring, driving rents to never-before-seen highs and giving investors long-term confidence in the multifamily market.

Monthly rents in the complex start at $2,000 for a 512-square-foot, one-bedroom apartment. Two-bedroom apartments start at $2,820 per month for an 820-square-foot unit.

Mill Creek paid $9 million for the site in 2019. The north end of downtown Tampa has seen a flurry of apartment construction in recent years; beyond Ave Riverwalk and student housing tower The Henry, the long-awaited AER Tower should break ground in the coming weeks.