Bluerock buys DeSota apartments in downtown Sarasota

Bluerock Real Estate LLC of New York has acquired the 10-story DeSota apartment building in downtown Sarasota for $80.3 million, a record amount for a multifamily rental project in the city and among the highest prices per unit among the sector’s transactions in Florida in the past year.

Bluerock bought the 180-unit project, which is roughly 90% occupied at rents exceeding an average of $2.40 per square foot, from a joint venture between El Paso, Texas-based Hunt Cos. Inc. and Carter USA, of Atlanta. Average Sarasota rental rates stand at about $1.45 per square foot.