Apartments in Midtown Tampa have sold in record-shattering deal
By Ashley Gurbal Kritzer
Tampa Bay Business Journal
Published: May 24, 2022

The apartments in Midtown Tampa have sold for more than $236.4 million — marking the first time in Tampa history that a market-rate multifamily property has traded for more than $600,000 per unit.

The 390-unit Novel Midtown sold May 19, according to a deed filed Tuesday in Hillsborough County. The seller is a partnership of Charlotte, North Carolina-based Crescent Communities, PGIM Real Estate and Bromley Cos., the master developer of Midtown Tampa, was also a partner in Novel Midtown.

Midtown is a 22-acre mixed-use district at Interstate 275 and North Dale Mabry Highway; besides Novel Midtown, it is home to Whole Foods Market, REI Co-op, dozens of retailers and restaurants, a dual-flag hotel and office space.

The sales price does not include the retail space on the ground floor of Novel Midtown. Rents are not available on Novel Midtown's website; the most recent data on Apartments.com shows a 558-square-foot studio starting at $1,918 per month.

Chris Chadbourne and Brian Moulder of Walker & Dunlop Investment Sales represented the sellers in the transaction.

The sale is a watershed deal for Tampa Bay's multifamily market, which has seen a slew of record-breaking investment sales as rents climb to never-before-seen highs. Manor Riverwalk sold for $225 million or more than $562,500 per apartment in late 2021, marking the first time a Tampa apartment property had ever sold for more than $500,000 per unit.

“Novel Midtown is a best-in-class residential asset that is uniquely positioned to benefit from the place-making of a dynamic master-planned development," Daniel Casey, director of CBRE Investment Management's residential transaction team, said in a statement. "Tampa is one of the top-performing metros in Florida and has been a target market for investment activity for CBRE Investment Management. We believe that our expertise as an investor-operator will further benefit and enhance the appeal of the asset and the larger mixed-use project."