Canadian real estate firm H&R REIT has reached an $84.3 million agreement to buy out its investment partner in two Florida apartment developments, including Lantower Bayside in Largo, giving the company full ownership of both properties before they reach stabilized occupancy.
The Largo development, a 271-unit apartment complex on 8.4 acres at 16485 U.S. Highway 19 N., consists of four-story buildings with approximately 261,000 square feet of rentable space. H&R’s other property in the deal, the 330-unit Lantower Sunrise in Kissimmee, brings the combined portfolio to 601 apartments, with an original construction budget of approximately $210 million.
H&R already owns 29.1% of both developments through a joint venture with Lantower Residential Real Estate Development Trust, a Canadian investment vehicle established in 2024 to help finance construction. Under the Oct. 5 agreement, H&R’s subsidiaries will acquire the trust’s remaining 70.9% interest for an estimated $77.9 million after management fees and carried interest, consolidating ownership under the company’s Lantower residential business.
The buyout gives the development trust’s investors an early exit rather than requiring them to wait for the properties to reach stabilized occupancy, a risk its independent committee cited in recommending the sale. The agreement, which follows H&R’s Aug. 11 announcement of a pending change of control involving GO Residential Real Estate Investment Trust, provides for a return tied to a 20% annualized gross-return formula before fees and carried interest.
Investors in the development trust are expected to receive approximately $15.15 per U.S.-dollar unit or C$15.65 per Canadian-dollar unit, compared with their original $10 investments, before certain additional deductions. H&R expects the transaction to close in the fourth quarter, subject to approvals from the trust’s investors and shareholders involved in the broader H&R transaction.
The companies have not disclosed how much of the $84.3 million purchase price applies to the Largo development or provided separate construction, leasing or occupancy figures for either property.