Suburban Tampa apartments sell for almost $300,000 per door
By Ashley Gurbal Kritzer
Tampa Bay Business Journal
Published: Jul 20, 2023

An apartment complex still under construction in a Tampa suburb has sold for more than $85 million.

Chicago-based Trilogy Real Estate Group has acquired the 289-unit Azalea Apartments on Causeway Boulevard near Tampa, according to Hillsborough County public records. The seller was Orlando-based ZOM Living.

The sales price breaks down to $294,117 per apartment. ZOM will continue to manage the construction of the complex. The 13.38-acre site is in an opportunity zone, a federally designated area that offers tax incentives for investors and developers. ZOM bought the property in 2021 for $5.057 million.

A mortgage for the sale to Trilogy has not been filed.

"We are the beneficiaries of three years of development work that ZOM Living completed," Trilogy chief investment officer Jesse Karasik said in a statement. "Opportunity zone developments typically take multiple years to bring online and become cash-flowing assets, and we are thrilled to have been positioned to acquire this high-quality property in a booming market near its completion."

The apartments in the complex range from 700 to 1,400 square feet.

"We continue to focus on delivering cycle-resistant investor returns, which today's market environment provides for via attractive multifamily investment opportunities," Matt Leiter, chief financial officer, said in a statement. "While all of our investments are selected based on their viability independent of any potential tax benefits, the qualified opportunity zone program can provide a meaningful enhancement to investor returns."