One of the largest owners and investors of affordable housing in the country scored the biggest deal in the firm’s history, taking it into a Sun Belt state that had some of the strongest rent growth during the pandemic.
Standard Communities said it bought a controlling interest in an affordable housing portfolio of nearly 3,200 units in Florida and Georgia. The deal marks the firm’s entry into Florida and a first for affordable housing in Georgia where it owns market-rate apartments, taking the firm’s total portfolio to 19,000 units.
The firm is building a market-rate apartment property in Savannah, Georgia, that includes converting a former Atlantic Coast Line Railroad building constructed in 1926.
Florida metropolitan areas had some of the highest annual rent growth in the country during 2021 and into last year, led by the Miami, Tampa and Orlando areas with 18% to more than 20% growth at some points, according to CoStar data.
Affordability became such a concern that voters in Orange County, where Orlando is the largest city, voted for rent control despite a court ruling that it was unconstitutional and now is awaiting a decision from the Florida Supreme Court.
Standard Communities said it will invest $25 million in capital improvements across the units it now controls.
“High-quality, well-maintained affordable housing is crucial to the well-being and livelihood of so many people, Jeffrey Jaeger, co-founder of Standard Communities, said in a statement.
The seller of the controlling stake wasn’t disclosed. A photo sent with the announcement is of Pinewood Apartments in Athens, Georgia, a 44-year-old, 90-unit property owned by Tampa firm Southport Financial Services.
Standard Communities wouldn’t comment beyond the announcement. Southport didn’t respond to a request to confirm it’s the seller of the controlling interest across all of the units.
Southport builds and buys market rent properties but also has developed more than 120 low-income housing tax credit properties spread across 19 states, according to the firm’s website.
A significant portion of its portfolio is in Florida.