This Week’s South Florida Deal Sheet: Swiss Firm Buys Fort Lauderdale Apartments
Boardwalk Properties sold The Queue Apartments at 817 SE Second Ave. in Fort Lauderdale for $59M, according to records collected by property intelligence platform Vizzda. The Miami Beach-based multifamily investor sold the 191-unit property to an entity controlled by the Swiss investment firm Lurra Capital.
Boardwalk bought The Queue Apartments for $53M in 2018, the same year construction at the property was finished, according to property records.
The property, built on 1.6 acres, has units ranging from studios to three bedrooms. Apartments.com has one-bedroom listings at the property for $2,300 per month.
As part of the transaction, the Lurra entity, Real Lurra US II, assumed a $34.5M mortgage from New York-based AIG. It has a $33M balance.
SALES
An affiliate of Delray Beach-based Smith & Henzy Affordable Group paid a Related Group entity $53M for the Boynton Bay Apartments affordable housing complex for seniors, according to Vizzda records.
The acquisition of the 240-unit complex of 18 low-rise buildings at 1785 NE Fourth St. in Boynton Beach was funded with two mortgages from the Housing Finance Authority of Palm Beach County. The buyer secured a $47M mortgage with an 18-year maturity date and an $11M mortgage from the housing authority that matures in 30 months.
The complex was built on 21 acres in 1991, and a Related Group affiliate acquired it in July 2022 for $48M.
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An entity controlled by Orlando-based Foundry Commercial paid $38M for 30 acres at 3800 S. Congress Ave. in Boynton Beach, where it plans to build warehouses. The seller was an entity tied to Baptist Health System South Florida.
Foundry partnered with Wheelock Street Capital on the purchase of the site, which hosts a 126K SF office and warehouse that the developer plans to demolish, according to a release. Foundry plans to build two warehouses totaling 457K SF called Egret Point Logistics Center.
The warehouses are slated to deliver next spring and will have 32-foot clear heights, 108 combined dock doors, 462 parking spaces and 180-foot truck courts.
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A 19K SF building in the Miami Design District that hosts a fashion design school sold for $27M. Arizona-based Store Capital purchased the seven-story building at 3704 NE Second Ave. from San Francisco-based Stockbridge Capital Group, records from Vizzda confirm.
Istituto Marangoni, a fashion school with eight campuses in major cities like Paris and Shanghai, signed a 30-year lease at the property that commenced in March and includes four options to extend the term for five years. The school has been operating from the building since 2018.
Stockbridge paid $22M for the building, which was built on a 4,735 SF site in 2017, around the time the property was completed.
CONSTRUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT
Peruvian developer Grupo T&C launched sales for Edge House, a 55-story luxury short-term rental tower slated to deliver fully furnished condos to Miami's Edgewater neighborhood, according to a release.
The Kobi Karp-designed tower at 1825 NE Fourth Ave. will have 592 units ranging from 360 SF to 840 SF at prices starting at more than $400K. Douglas Elliman is handling sales of condos, which have interior design from Coral Gables-based Adriana Hoyos Design Studio.
Grupo T&C hasn't announced a construction start date, delivery date or construction financing. Meridian TC Real Estate Group LLC, controlled by the heads of Grupo T&C, paid $9M to acquire the site in February 2012, deed records indicate. The developer first proposed a 36-story multifamily tower on the site in September 2020.
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Miami-based Atlantic Pacific Cos. and the Housing Authority of the City of Miami Beach broke ground Monday on a 119-unit studio apartment building in the city’s Normandy Shores neighborhood, according to a release.
The property, which is called Vista Breeze and is scheduled to deliver in late spring 2025, will be restricted to senior citizens earning no more than 80% of the area median income, or $57,800 for a single person. It is the largest affordable housing development to break ground in Miami Beach in 45 years, the release says. It is being built on land owned by the Miami Beach Housing Authority.
Construction of Vista Breeze, at 280 S. Shore Drive, is being financed with $9M in subordinate debt from the Florida Housing Finance Corp., a $1M loan from the city of Miami Beach and a $6M surtax loan from Miami-Dade County. Citi Community Capital provided a $12M permanent loan, and Bank of America is the construction lender and an equity investor.
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Pinnacle will break ground Wednesday on a 110-unit affordable housing development in Miramar called Pinnacle at La Cabaña, according to a release. The development at 8911 Miramar Parkway is being built by a joint venture between Miami-based Pinnacle and the city of Miramar.
The one- and two-bedroom apartments at Pinnacle at La Cabaña will be restricted to seniors, with 11 units for tenants earning no more than 28% of AMI and the remaining units restricted to 60% of AMI, or $40,320 for a single person.
Pinnacle at La Cabaña is being built on city-owned land with a $22M construction loan from Bank of America, $27M in financing from Housing Tax Credit Equity provided by Bank of America, a $5.6M first mortgage from Neighborhood Lending Partners, $4.3M from the Florida Housing Finance Corp., $750K from the United Way of Broward County and $656K from the city of Miramar.
LEASES
Greek restaurant brand Kyma will open its first location outside of New York at 300 Banyan, an under-construction boutique office building in West Palm Beach.
300 Banyan is being built alongside 111 Olive, a three-story historic building that Brand Atlantic Real Estate Partners and Wheelock Street Capital are renovating to create the combined project Banyan & Olive. The Kyma location is slated to open in 2025 in 8K SF on the ground floor of both properties, along with an additional 6K SF of rooftop space at 300 Banyan.
Kyma, which was named NYC’s best Greek restaurant by Gotham Magazine, has two Manhattan locations and one restaurant on Long Island in Roslyn.
The 12-story 300 Banyan is expected to deliver this month. Its 115K SF of office space is among the most expensive in West Palm Beach and is more than 50% pre-leased.
PEOPLE
Lisa Jesmer was promoted to market leader for Florida at Avison Young, according to a release.
Jesmer will focus on driving the brokerage’s operations in the state, expanding business development operations and recruiting top talent. She will also emphasize expanding the firm’s nonbrokerage services, including project management, consulting and real estate management services.
Jesmer first joined Avison Young in 2022 as a principal and national director for investor services development. Jesmer will report to Chris Fraser, the firm’s regional managing director for the South Region.
She replaces Randy Buddemeyer, who was let go from his role as managing director for the state in May.
