Kolter Group nabbed a development site in Homestead for $17.2 million.
An affiliate of the Delray Beach-based developer acquired the 41-acre site at 202 Northeast 18th Avenue, according to records.
Seller South Wind Apartments, led by Miami Lakes-based developer Lewis Swezy, had planned to build 400 townhomes and apartments on the former agricultural land, according to published reports.
South Wind paid $2 million in 2003 for the four vacant parcels, which run along East Mowry Drive, records show. The site is surrounded by residential communities.
Kolter Group CEO Bobby Julien did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In 2017, the Homestead City Council voted to change the property’s zoning to multifamily residential. Swezy planned 150 market-rate apartments and 250 for-sale townhomes. Swezy could not be reached for comment.
Kolter has invested in projects valued at more than $15 billion and recently launched a multifamily arm, according to the company’s website. Earlier this year, the firm’s Kolter Urban division launched sales for Selene Oceanfront Residences, a two-tower luxury condo project in Fort Lauderdale Beach.
Homestead remains one of the most affordable areas in South Florida for, and is a magnet for developers of residential communities. Earlier this month, Deepak Khosa, a real estate investor who owns Palm Beach Gardens-based Atlantic Property Services, bought Card Sound, a 105-unit garden-style apartment community. Khosa paid $10.6 million, or close to $101,000 per unit. Card Sound is 98 percent occupied and rents start at $693 a month for a studio and up to $993 for a two-bedroom apartment, according to the property’s offering.
In October, developer Armando Bravo purchased an Opportunity Zone development site at 503 South Krome Avenue for $5.4 million. Bravo plans to build a roughly 190-unit apartment complex with several four-story buildings, and 60,000 to 70,000 square feet of retail.
A month earlier, homebuilder Lennar paid $7.1 million for 27 acres of land in Homestead.