Centennial Bank Makes $73M Construction Loan for Florida Luxury Apartments

Unicorp National Developments has secured $73 million in construction financing to build Elysian, a 323-unit resort-style apartment community in Winter Garden, Fla.

Centennial Bank provided the construction loan, with Robby Barrows, a senior vice president of commercial banking, and David Druey, the Florida regional president, as the bank’s main point persons on the deal. No brokers were listed on the transaction, announced by the bank today.

Elysian will be at the northeast corner of Avalon Road and Seidel Avenue and will be constructed over the next 18 months once the groundbreaking ceremony occurs. The neighborhood of Winter Garden is near Expressway 429, providing quick access to Downtown Orlando, and has seen its population increase by 40 percent in the last 15 years. 

Chuck Whittall, the president of Unicorp National Developments, said in a statement that Elysian is expected to benefit from the municipality’s growing demand, and that this is his firm’s first large-scale development project in three years. 

Unicorp and Centennial Bank have completed $500 million in CRE transactions together over the past decade, according to Unicorp. 

“With construction pricing off its peak, we’re entering the right cycle,” said Whittall. “Elysian will be a flagship example of what’s possible when strategic timing meets trusted partnership.”

Brian Pascus can be reached at bpascus@commercialobserver.com.