A sprawling apartment community built right next to Liberty Center has changed hands in a deal worth more than $62 million, with the majority stake now in the hands of an out-of-state investor. Liberty Flats, the 356-unit development in Butler County, was sold by its Columbus-based developer earlier this year in a transaction that only recently came to light.
Columbus-based Casto Communities sold the apartment project next to Liberty Center for more than $62 million, according to bizjournals.com. The deal happened quietly in June, with Casto Communities unloading its Liberty Flats multifamily community and the majority interest passing to a Florida-based real estate firm, as reported by WKRC Local 12. The identity of that Florida buyer was not disclosed in the reporting.
Where the Complex Sits and What It Offers
Liberty Flats sits next to Liberty Center in Butler County, about 20 miles north of downtown Cincinnati, per the Local 12 report. The development, located in Liberty Township, consists of 24 three-story buildings offering a mix of garage parking and surface spaces, the station notes. Casto broke ground on the project in 2023, and the finished community now totals 356 apartments.
Earlier planning coverage filled in more detail about what the project was designed to include. According to wcpo.com, Liberty Flats was initially planned as a 356-unit development on 22 acres west of Taylor Street, adjacent to Liberty Center, with a mix of 187 one-bedroom units and 169 two-bedroom units. That same report described a planned clubhouse with a fitness center, a pool and sidewalks for residents. An earlier planning document from cincinnati.com, however, described the project differently, placing it on a 29-acre site on the north side of Liberty Way and the west side of Taylor Street — a discrepancy in acreage that was never resolved in subsequent coverage.
Casto's Ohio Footprint
Casto Communities, described as a Columbus developer, is a sizable player in Ohio's apartment market. The company owns and manages more than 4,000 units across 13 apartment communities throughout the state, according to wcpo.com's earlier reporting on the Liberty Flats project. The Liberty Flats sale marks one of its notable recent divestitures in the Cincinnati region.
A Cooling Construction Pipeline Could Push Rents Higher
The sale lands amid a broader shift in Greater Cincinnati's apartment market. Local 12 reported that rents across the region are expected to grow in 2026 as the construction pipeline slows down, with developers delivering 591 new units in the third quarter of 2025 and another 550 expected in the fourth quarter, bringing the full-year 2025 forecast to 2,925 units. That pipeline is expected to keep slowing through the end of 2025 and into 2026, according to the same report, a trend that could put upward pressure on rents just as large, newly built communities like Liberty Flats change ownership.
