Grant Cardone snaps up Tarpon Springs apartments at a big discount
By Breanne Williams
Tampa Bay Business Journal
Published: Jan 4, 2024

Business influencer Grant Cardone’s real estate firm has acquired a Tarpon Springs multifamily property — and has plans to buy thousands of apartments in the Tampa Bay region this year.

Cardone, CEO of Cardone Capital, said he’s been looking to enter the Tampa Bay market for three to four years.

Cardone Capital did not disclose pricing details.

But a deed filed in Pinellas County shows it closed on the 236-unit Icaria Apartments on Dec. 28 for $39.24 million. The sales price breaks down to roughly $166,271 per unit. The seller, RSE Capital Partners, purchased the property in October 2021 for $69.65 million, according to the property appraiser.

“Tampa is one of the strongest job and real estate markets in the country right now,” Cardone told the Tampa Bay Business Journal. “We own about 12,000 units and 75% of them are in Florida. Tampa is our top choice of the top five metros: Tampa, Orlando, Sarasota, Naples and the Miami/Fort Lauderdale area.”

Icaria Apartments at 1185 S Pinellas Ave. was built in 2020. Cardone has renamed the community 10X Tarpon Springs — a nod to his business book "The 10X Rule." Most of the multifamily communities that Cardone Capital owns are branded with the 10X flag.

The acquisition “completes the deployment of Cardone Equity Fund 22’s approximate $100 million of equity,” the company said.

Cardone said the deal was an example of debt coming due on a property. He said the sale is a bellwether for similar transactions to come, and that he expects thousands more properties in the same situation will sell for below replacement cost in 2024.

“I believe we are in the biggest real estate correction in United States history,” Cardone said. “This cycle will not involve the single-family home like 2008 did. It will be all institutions, pension funds and the biggest names in the world that own multifamily that were too aggressive in the last three years. It’s not a real estate crisis; it’s another debt crisis with $2.7 trillion in debt coming due in the next three years; $700 billion in ’24.”

The apartments offer one- to three-bedroom floor plans. Amenities include a 24-hour clubhouse with a shuffleboard court, internet cafe and demonstration kitchen, a resort-style pool with a poolside lounge, fitness center, outdoor grilling stations and indoor and outdoor bike storage. The apartments also feature direct access to the Pinellas Trail.

Cardone said his team toured Tampa Bay in an Agusta 139 helicopter for three days looking for a prime location to make an initial investment in the market. Location, Cardone said, is something they refuse to compromise on. When they saw the asset abutting the Pinellas Trail, they knew they had found their first acquisition.

The goal is to acquire another 2,000 units in Tampa Bay by the end of 2024. He said Cardone Capital also focuses on the scale of the units. They prefer assets with 300 units so they can offer high-end amenities. The firm also offers a chance for residents to become investors in their assets, which Cardone said is something “no one else” is doing.

“Since inception, the firm has invested $1.2 billion of equity on behalf of its investor base while distributing nearly $300 million of cash flow from operations,” the company said in a statement. “In 2023, Cardone Capital’s 13,600 investors received just under $60 million in distributions.”

The Tarpon Springs acquisition brings Aventura-based Cardone Capital’s multifamily portfolio to $4.4 billion in assets under management. In total, the firm has 38 Class A assets. The firm recently launched Cardone Equity Fund 23, a $150 million investment vehicle specifically targeting “institutional quality assets in high-growth markets.”