Dealmaker: Passco Cos. Acquires Florida Multifamily for $54M

Passco Cos., Irvine, Calif., acquired Springs at Estero, a 260-unit Class A multifamily community in southwest Florida, for $53.5 million.

The newly delivered, stabilized property is in Estero, part of the Fort Myers-Cape Coral metro.

Passco Cos. Vice President of Acquisitions Colin Gillis said the institutional-grade property reflects the firm’s strategy of acquiring core assets with long-term growth potential in the southeast. He said the firm plans to rebrand the property Longitude 81.

“This is our fourth acquisition in Florida in the last 12 months,” Gillis said, noting that Springs at Estero represents the firm’s first southwest Florida acquisition.

Gillis said southwest Florida has added more than 55,000 new jobs in the past two years and its population grew by more than 22,000 between 2015 and 2016. “The southwest MSA is also consistently ranked as one of the fastest-growing regions in the U.S. with an unemployment rate hovering around 4.7 percent,” he said.

The property is five miles from the Southwest Florida International Airport. Other demand drivers include Florida Gulf Coast University and Gulf Coast Medical Center. In addition, Hertz Rental Cars recently relocated its corporate headquarters to the region.

JBM Institutional Multifamily Advisors Chairman and CEO James May represented seller Continental Properties, Menomonee Falls, Wis., in the transaction. KeyBank Real Estate Capital Senior Vice President Chris Black arranged Passco’s acquisition financing through Fannie Mae, Washington, D.C.

The property delivered in late 2016. “The strength of this asset was demonstrated by the property’s initial lease ups,” May said. “It outperformed similar Class A product throughout the region in terms of both speed and rental rates.”