Loading
Apartment investors expand to office, retail
Sam and Laurice Hachem have struck again, and they are no longer limiting their investments to apartment communities. The Hachems, who bought several-hundred apartment units in the Tampa Bay area starting in June of 2008, recently expanded their investment portfolio to other commercial properties.
On Dec. 31, the couple purchased a 12-story historic office building at 601 N. Ashley Drive from Novare Group and Intowngroup for $4.1 million. Five days later, the couple bought the 118,000-square-foot Sweetbay-anchored Columbus Plaza retail strip center for $2.8 million.
Along with their seemingly low purchase prices, both properties featured high vacancies (50% for Ashley Drive), deferred maintenance and needed construction improvements. Neither purchase required bank financing.
Laurice Hachem says that the office building declined because its former owner planned to develop it into a condo project, which hindered leasing. The Columbus Plaza had problems, she says, because of lack of on-site property management.
“We owned a number of office and residential buildings in Montreal, prior to coming back to the Tampa market, and before going to Montreal we owned retail centers,” Hachem says. “So this isn't something new for us. It just is an excellent time for opportunities, for someone in our position.”
The couple is working under the belief that the economy will start to improve in 2011, leaving them only one more soft year in which to find the best deals.
Your free article limit has been reached this month.
Subscribe now for unlimited digital access to our award-winning business news.
Join thousands of executives who rely on us for insights spanning Tampa Bay to Naples.
