Empty land in North Natomas with a long history of come-and-gone development concepts appears to be that much closer to a project coming to fruition.

Real estate investor Ethan Conrad announced Wednesday he’d sold the 10.5-acre site at 3801 Gateway Park Blvd. to a development partnership of Hines and TriCap Development, for $8.3 million.

“We are very pleased we were able to put this deal together with Hines and add much needed housing supply to the North Natomas market,” said Ken King, a partner at Sacramento-based TriCap, in an email. “With one of the highest densities in the area and across the street from numerous restaurants, grocery stores and entertainment options, the project represents the best of modern, walkable infill suburban development.”

Sacramento planners have approved a Hines/TriCap proposal for a 303-unit apartment project on the site, called Natomas Fountains. That market-rate project would have six three-story buildings, with units ranging from 540 to 1,175 square feet and studios to two-bedrooms.

A Hines representative said construction is expected to start in the fourth quarter of this year. TriCap helped secure the property, according to Hines, but the latter will carry out the actual project development.

The sale represented a considerable gain for Conrad, who bought the property in 2013 for $810,000, according to real estate data service Reonomy. He said in an email that he helped get the site’s zoning changed from commercial/office to multifamily, which increased its value.

But Conrad also got the property originally at a depressed price. In 2013, the Sacramento market and its land values were still in recovery from the Great Recession.

Also, 3801 Gateway Park Blvd. was one of many local properties owned by Abe Alizadeh before his real estate empire imploded a decade ago. Alizadeh lost that property and dozens of others to foreclosure, after getting approvals for an unrealized office park on the site.