Provident Resources Group, a developer based in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, has acquired a student housing development site near Florida International University (FIU) in Sweetwater. The company paid $22.5 million for the 1.3-acre property located at 10710, 10742, and 10752 Southwest Fifth Street.
The purchase was financed with a $241.2 million tax-exempt student housing bond from Wilmington Trust and an additional $10 million mortgage from the city of Sweetwater. These funds will be used to build a 20-story apartment building with 205 units designated for students and faculty.
Provident’s acquisition price is $12 million higher than what the previous owners paid five years ago. The seller was a partnership between Miami Beach-based Workforce Housing Partners and Istanbul-based Nef, who bought the site for $10.5 million in 2021.
According to records, Provident agreed to reserve units for FIU students and faculty as part of its arrangement to secure university support for the tax-exempt bond. The combined land purchase and development costs are estimated at $273.7 million, which averages out to over $1.3 million per unit.
This transaction gives Provident an entry into the competitive FIU submarket in Miami-Dade County, where developers have been actively pursuing student housing projects near campus. For example, Adam America Real Estate and JW Capital Management completed a nearby 22-story building with 932 student housing units in 2024 using a $147 million construction loan.
Workforce Housing Partners is led by Jason Talbot, who was previously involved in litigation with Nef regarding control of the site sold to Provident. In 2024, Talbot’s entity sued Nef in Miami-Dade Circuit Court alleging that Nef failed to make required capital contributions totaling $47.8 million and sought to remove Nef’s decision-making authority on the project. The lawsuit was settled within the same year.
