UPDATED Nov. 7, 10:55 a.m.: An entity tied to Jorge Peréz’s Related Group and Rockpoint Group just bought a portion of the development site for Water Tower Commons, a master-planned rental community in Lantana initially proposed nearly three years ago.
The company, Lantana I Owner LLC, paid $14.76 million for 16 acres of the 73-acre site located at the northeast corner of West Lantana Road and Andrew Redding Road. The developers broke ground on the first phase of the project with the backing of a $52.2 million construction loan from Regions Bank, records show.
Plans call for a 360-unit market-rate rental development with a completion date of 2020, according to a press release. The site was also approved for more than 340,000 square feet of commercial space.
Lantana Development, a partnership between Kenco Communities’ Ken Endelson and Wexford Capital, is the seller. It paid $15.6 million for the former A.G. Holley State Hospital site in 2014.
Jay Bailyn of the Bailyn Group represented both sides of the deal.
Water Tower Commons was initially approved by Lantana’s town council in 2015, but sat in limbo due to a number of delays and rejected variances. Walmart, which would have been the development’s first tenant, pulled out of the project.
The development is in line with Related’s push to invest in more multifamily assets. This summer, Related and Rockpoint Group launched a new division within Related focused on acquiring value-add multifamily properties in Florida. The firm has about 4,000 multifamily units in its development pipeline.
Rockpoint, a private equity firm and investment adviser, has also joined Related on condo projects that include Brickell Heights and Residences by Armani Casa.
Correction: A previous version of the story misrepresented the number of acres Related purchased.