AEW Capital Management bought a 424-unit senior living rental complex in Wellington for $100.1 million, marking this year’s first major commercial real estate deal in South Florida.
The firm bought Wellington Bay at 2590 Wellington Bay Drive from Ares Management, according to records and real estate database Vizzda. The selling entity also ties to Tampa-based ZRS Management, records show.
The buyer assumed the seller’s $81.7 million loan on the property. Capital One is the lender.
Wellington Bay consists of a six-story building with 224 units, a four-story building with 124 units, five three-story structures with a total of 60 units and eight one-story villas with a total of 16 units, Vizzda records show. It also has three one-story garages and a clubhouse. The site has a development potential for an additional 38-unit building and a two-story, 20,000-square-foot wellness clinic, Vizzda records show.
The complex is a senior living community offering activities such as pickleball, and also has the Lisbet Health Center that offers assisted living and memory care, according to Wellington Bay’s website.
Los Angeles-based Ares completed the community in 2022 on a 36.1-acre site. Tampa-based ZRS Management is a multifamily manager that was originally formed as an arm of Zom Living, which has offices in Orlando, Fort Lauderdale, Dallas and elsewhere in the U.S.
AEW, which has offices in Boston, Los Angeles, Denver and throughout Europe, has been a frequent player in South Florida real estate. In 2021, it bought the Shops at Beacon Lakes retail complex at 1700-1970 Northwest 117th Place, near Dolphin Mall, for $108 million. That year, it also bought the Tamiami Landings apartment complex near the intersection of Southwest 152nd Avenue and 136th Street in Miami-Dade County’s Country Walk area, as well as the Palm Beach Preserve apartment complex at 7065 Banyan Leaf Drive in unincorporated Palm Beach County for $123 million, combined.
Jonathan Martin leads AEW’s North American operations as CEO, according to the firm’s website.
Ares’ sale of Wellington Bay comes as it heightens its investment in South Florida. In October, it paid $147 million for the newly built four-building Midway Miami Park industrial campus at 9675 Northwest 174th Street in Miami Lakes. That came after Ares bought the eight-story, 284-unit Ceru apartment building at 5205 Congress Avenue in Boca Raton for $139.7 million in May. In December, Ares Commercial Real Estate provided a $200 million refinancing for a portion of Steve Ross’ CityPlace mixed-use complex in downtown West Palm Beach. The loan replaced a $132.9 million outstanding balance on an existing loan from a Luxembourg lender and bumped up the total by $67.1 million.
Michael Arougheti leads Ares Management as CEO.