The new owners of 171 units in The Place at Channelside have decided to rent them out for now, said Byron Moger, an executive director of Cushman & Wakefield, the broker for the sale.

 

The units were sold at a U.S. Bankruptcy Court auction last month. They were purchased by Channelside LLC, a joint venture of Southwest Properties and Armco Capital, both Canadian companies.

 

They got a deal, considering the units originally were marketed for about $200,000 to $1 million. The new owner paid about $21.9 million - roughly $128,000 each - for 171 condominiums; that includes 12,900 square feet of retail space.

 

The Tampa developer, Key Developers Group LLC, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization in March after some buyers backed out of contracts and others sued to get their deposits back. The developer owed the bank more than $47 million.

 

Representatives of the two companies in the new joint venture could not be reached for comment. Moger said he doesn't know when the rental office will be open.

 

Of the 245 units at The Place, 74 units had been sold as condos. There are other new downtown condominiums where individual owners are renting units, but The Place will be first to be actively marketed as apartments after condo owners already moved in.