Provident Resources Group is taking over a student housing development site near Florida International University that was tied up in litigation between the previous owner and a partner.
An affiliate of Baton Rouge, Louisiana-based Provident, led by CEO Christopher Hicks, paid $22.5 million for the 1.3-acre assemblage at 10710, 10742 and 10752 Southwest Fifth Street in Sweetwater, records and real estate database Vizzda show.
The buyer secured a $241.2 million tax-exempt student housing bond from Wilmington Trust and a $10 million mortgage from the city of Sweetwater to finance a student housing apartment building.
Provident paid $12 million above the previous sale price for the assemblage five years ago, The seller, a partnership between Miami Beach-based Workforce Housing Partners and Istanbul-based Nef, bought the site for $10.5 million in 2021, records show.
The property is entitled for a 20-story student housing apartment building with 205 units. Provident agreed to reserve units for students and faculty in exchange for the university’s support in obtaining the tax-exempt bond, records show.
Land purchase and development costs of $273.7 million amount to more than $1.3 million per unit when divided by 205 apartments.
The deal gives Provident a foothold in Miami-Dade’s growing FIU submarket, where developers have aggressively pursued student housing projects around the campus.
For instance, Adam America Real Estate and JW Capital Management developed a 22-story building with 932 student housing units at 10726 Southwest Seventh Street, completed in 2024 with a $147 million construction loan.
Workforce Housing Partners is led by Jason Talbot, who was entangled in a legal skirmish with Nef over the student housing site. FIU Student Housing Estates, the entity managed by Talbot that sold the property to Provident, sued Nef in Miami-Dade Circuit Court in 2024 to take control of the project.
Talbot alleged that Nef breached the partnership’s operating agreement by failing to make $47.8 million in capital contributions. Talbot wanted to remove Nef’s decision-making power in order to move forward with a deal involving the site. The lawsuit was settled the same year it was filed.
