A New York-based real estate investment firm specializing in multifamily properties picked up an apartment community in Plantation for $125.4 million.
An affiliate of Abacus Capital Group bought the 376-unit St. Tropez Apartments at 8000-8290 Cleary Boulevard, records show. The seller is an entity tied to Dallas, Texas-based real estate investment firm Lincoln Property Company.
Abacus, led by President and CEO Benjamin Friedman, paid about $333,511 per unit. That equates to nearly $100,000 more per unit than Lincoln Property’s purchase price six years ago.
Abacus financed the deal with an $84.5 million loan from JLL Real Capital, records show.
Founded in 2004, Abacus develops, redevelops, acquires and manages multifamily properties throughout the U.S., according to the company’s website. Its portfolio spans $2.5 billion in real estate assets, including 23,000 apartments.
In 2015, Lincoln Property bought the 32.2-acre St. Tropez for $88.6 million, or roughly $235,372 per unit, records show. The apartments were built in 1996.
Rents at St. Tropez are between $2,349 to $3,647 a month for units ranging from 1,113 square feet to 1,517 square feet, according to Apartments.com.
Migration from other states is driving up demand for rentals, which has resulted in skyrocketing rent hikes in South Florida. In the second quarter, average rents climbed 7.9 percent compared to the same period last year, with some submarkets in Palm Beach County experiencing hikes of 24 percent, according to Berkadia. Those key drivers are fueling institutional investors’ appetite for large apartment communities in the tri-county region.
Last week, an entity tied to Blackstone paid $171 million for the One Boynton apartment complex at 1331 and 1351 South Dixie Federal Highway in Boynton Beach. The buyer, which lists several executives with New York-based Blackstone, paid $346,154 per unit. Built in 2009, One Boynton has 494 units spread across five buildings.
In August, the Milestone Group bought the 505-unit Emerald Palms for $107 million. The deal for the 24-acre apartment complex at 12325 Southwest 151st Street in southwest Miami-Dade equated to $211,882 per unit. Emerald Palms, near Zoo Miami, offers one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments and townhomes.