Cushman & Wakefield, as the exclusive agent, has negotiated the sale of Watermans Crossing, a multifamily community positioned along the Hillsborough River in the Wellswood submarket of Tampa. The 337-unit property sold for $29.5 million, or approximately $87,000 per unit, and was 92 percent occupied at time of sale.
Executive Director Luis Elorza, Executive Director Brad Capas, Vice Chairman Robert Given and Senior Financial Analyst Michael Mulkern with Cushman & Wakefield’s Florida Multifamily Investment Sales Team, represented Texas-based Atlantic Housing Foundation in the disposition. The buyer is Miami-based Westside Capital Group, which now owns two multifamily properties in Tampa’s Wellswood neighborhood and approximately $100 million of assets within the greater Tampa MSA. Westside plans on rebranding the property to Westshore Crossing.
At 4515 N. Rome Ave., Watermans Crossing sits on 13.4 acres approximately three miles north of downtown Tampa. The location also provides convenient access to Tampa International Airport, the Westshore Business District and Pinellas County via Interstate 275.
The property consists of 20 three-story buildings with an average unit size of 895 square feet. Approximately 25 percent of the residences are two-story lofts. With 1,000 feet of frontage along the Hillsborough River, many units and common areas have water views. Community amenities include a large leasing center/resident clubhouse, three swimming pools, a sports court, a playground and a private boat ramp. In addition, there are several large, open areas that could accommodate expanded amenities.
“West Tampa, Central Tampa and Tampa Heights are in the midst of a dramatic transformation as more residents look for attractive housing closer to their jobs and urban entertainment centers,” said Elorza. “The buyer has a great opportunity to transform Watermans Crossing into a distinctive waterfront community that offers a highly desirable urban location within a short drive of the Tampa Riverwalk, Ybor City, Armature Works and Water Street.”
Added Capas, “We continue to see strong investor demand for value-add multifamily assets in the Tampa Bay market, especially for those located in or near the urban core. Watermans Crossing offered an extraordinary opportunity to acquire a well-located property with multiple sources of potential revenue growth.”
“Watermans Crossing is another successful execution within our multifamily program. We invest in distressed yet well-located assets that we turn into high-quality housing for residents at affordable rents,” said Jakub Hejl, Westside’s Founder and President. “Between our acquisitions and planned capital improvements, we have now invested approximately $70 million in two properties within a one-mile radius in the Wellswood neighborhood, with a significant portion of that capital contributing to improving quality of life for our residents and enhanced curb appeal of our properties. Our investments contribute to the massive growth of this neighborhood, together with development of single-family homes, hospitals, medical office spaces as well as the new Bank of Tampa building scheduled to open in summer 2020.”
Cushman & Wakefield’s Florida Multifamily Team is directed by Given and includes Elorza, Capas and Mulkern, as well as Nick Meoli and Mike Donaldson in West-Central Florida; Jay Ballard and Ken Delvillar in Central Florida; and Zachary Sackley, Troy Ballard, Calum Weaver, Errol Blumer, Neal Victor, James Quinn and Perry Synanidis in South Florida. Kaplan, Lentz and Mark Rutherford facilitate debt, equity and structured finance for the team throughout Florida.
About Westside Capital Group
Westside is a diversified real estate investment holding firm with a proven track record in real estate private equity investments, construction & development management and venture capital investments. Founded in 2016, Westside leverages big ideas in small timelines out of its US and European offices. Westside generates attractive returns on capital by defensive, value-added investing in traditional real estate asset classes. It targets cash-flowing properties at discounts to replacement costs with additional non-underwritten upside. It creates value through active management and targeted capital initiatives. Westside establishes individual investment platforms within the firm with a particular desire to strengthen economies of scale, operating expertise, and exit optionality. It’s strategy within asset classes, capital structures and markets shifts based on macro-economic considerations. For more information about Westside, please visit www.westsidecg.com.
About Cushman & Wakefield
Cushman & Wakefield is a leading global real estate services firm that delivers exceptional value for real estate occupiers and owners. Cushman & Wakefield is among the largest real estate services firms with approximately 51,000 employees in 400 offices and 70 countries. In 2018, the firm had revenue of $8.2 billion across core services of property, facilities and project management, leasing, capital markets, valuation and other services.
