The largest homebuilder in Brazil is looking to invest more than $200 million in AHS Residential, a South Florida multifamily builder.
MRV Engenharia E Participacoes S.A. plans to acquire a 50 percent stake in AHS Residential, which will allow the company to expand and develop more apartment buildings throughout South Florida, according to a release. In a securities filing, MRV said it will hold a shareholders meeting to vote on the proposal to invest $220 million to $255 million, Reuters reported.
AHS Residential’s chairman, Rubens Menin Texeira de Souza is also the founder of MRV Engenharia. Since its founding in 1979, MRV Engenharia has developed and sold over 427,000 multifamily units in Brazil in 158 cities.
Miami-based AHS Residential was founded in 2012 by Menin and CEO Ernesto Lopes to develop, build and manage multifamily properties. The company focuses on workforce housing and is currently developing Deering Groves, a 280-unit rental community in south Miami-Dade County.
In October, AHS Residential sold a seven-story apartment complex in Dania Beach for $38 million to a California-based trust.
There is strong demand for workforce housing in South Florida as rents and home prices are rising faster than income levels. Miami is consistently ranked as one of the least affordable places to live in the country.