What once was described as the crowned jewel of Apopka is now on the trading block. The Apopka Voice has learned that the Highland Manor and the Hilton Garden Inn, two key properties associated with the Apopka City Center, are up for sale.
According to the commercial real estate website berkadia.com, Taurus Apopka City Center, LLC, the developers of The Apopka City Center, have listed the two properties as a packaged purchase.
The description of the two properties on the site highlights two flourishing properties in a growing city.
"Berkadia Real Estate Advisors LLC is pleased to offer, on an exclusive basis, the opportunity to acquire fee-simple interest in the 114-key Hilton Garden Inn Apopka City Center," the listing reads. "Included in the offering is the adjacent Highland Manor event venue.
The historic, 110-year-old venue is one of Central Florida’s premier events venues that hosts weddings, corporate events, and “SMERF” gatherings, funneling group business to the Hilton Garden Inn.
Built in 2020, the Hilton Garden Inn is located at the center of the master-planned development, Apopka City Center, which upon completion, will feature a grocery store, food hall, brewery, national branded restaurants, and 190-unit apartment building.
Apopka is experiencing transformational growth, propelled by several recent, large-scale and high-profile developments, including the new $203 million AdventHealth Apopka medical campus (3.5 miles), 2.4 million square feet Mid-Florida Logistics Park (4.4 miles), and the $1.6 billion Wekiva Parkway Extension (2023 completion), connecting the western beltway (SR 429) to I-4 & SR 417 in Lake Mary, representing the final link in Central Florida’s beltway system.
These remarkable growth dynamics position the Hilton Garden Inn at the forefront of western Orlando’s torrid growth trajectory, providing investors with the rare opportunity to acquire a high-performing, newly-constructed, Hilton-branded hotel with a captive, complimentary demand driver in Highland Manor."
Craig Govan, a Development Partner for Taurus, confirmed the listing.
"They are for sale," said Govan. "It's the same as all development properties. You either refinance and hold, or you sell. It's time. It's the normal cycle."
Despite its intent to sell two of the primary City Center properties, Govan pointed out the project's success, which began seven years ago.
"Miller's Ale House is on the way," he said. "Winn Dixie is open. The site plan for Brew Theory (Food Hall) is approved. It’s been a great success so far and will continue to be."
Taurus purchased the Highland Manor building and parking lot in 2017 from the City of Apopka, which had owned the property for about 10 years beforehand. The Highland Manor then signed a 10-year lease with Taurus.
After a 2018 groundbreaking ceremony, the Apopka City Center Hilton Garden Inn opened its doors in 2020.
In 2016, the City of Apopka signed a contract with Taurus to develop the Apopka City Center.
This is a developing story and will be updated as more details are known in future editions of The Apopka Voice.
