Pinellas apartments sell for $120 million

A pair of Pinellas County apartment complexes have sold for a combined $120 million, highlighting the notion that despite the COVID-19 pandemic the sector remains in demand among investors.

In St. Petersburg, 930 Central Flats sold for $64 million to a group led by Westerville, Ohio-based White Oak Partners, according to county property and state records.

Meanwhile, in Largo, New York-based Ashcroft Capital acquired the 416-unit Anthem Clearwater complex for $55.75 million, records show.

The 2770 Roosevelt Blvd. complex, previously known as the Woodland Key Apartments, last sold in July 2014 for $18 million, property records show. Rents in the complex, which was completed in 1974 and renovated in late 2018, range from $1,031 a month to $1,400 monthly, according to researcher Apartments.com.

Frank Roessler, Ashcroft Capital’s founder and CEO, says the company will spend about $5 million to upgrade Anthem Clearwater, with new kitchens, interior lighting and paint, landscaping, roofs and signage. The company also intends to install a playground and package locker for residents.

“We want our residents to be happy and love the community and stay there for a long period of time,” Roessler says.

Ashcroft Capital, which was formed in 2014, owns 23 properties with 7,421 units valued at nearly $1 billion, including the Mystic Bay community in Tampa Bay, according to the company’s website.

The six-story 930 Central Ave. project contains 218 units and was completed in the city’s Edge District in 2018. Rental rates there range from $1,428 per month for a studio apartment to $3,253 monthly for a two-bedroom unit, Apartments.com notes.

In addition to 930 Central Flats, White Oak also owns the Courtney Trace and The Addison apartments, both in Brandon, according to its website.

In all, White Oak controls 42 properties with 12,732 units in 10 states and valued at $1.9 billion, its website states.

Executives fromWhite Oak Partners did not return a telephone call for comment.