|
|
 |
|
March 21, 2010 |
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
| July 01, 2008 |
By: Eric Kalis |
|
he developer of a struggling condominium conversion project in Pembroke Pines has sold a substantial portion of the development to the Chicago-based real estate investment trust, Equity Residential.
Equity Residential, whose core business is investing in multifamily properties, paid $68 million last week for 24 buildings with 464 units in the second and third phases of the Devonaire at Winston, a gated condo development near Southwest Fifth Street and 110th Avenue, according to Broward County public records.
The units average 1,052 square feet in size and sold for about $147,000 per unit.
No financing was obtained by the investment trust, according to Broward records, which did not list the exact square footage of the buildings sold to Equity Residential.
Phone calls to Equity Residential senior vice president Barry Altshuler, who signed the deed on behalf of the trust, were not immediately returned.
Deaktor Development of Pittsburgh, the seller, paid more than $142 million in October 2005 for the entire 764-unit, 44-acre complex, which was then operating as the Windsor at Pembroke Cay. The apartment complex was built in three phases by Irving, Texas-based JPI between 2000 and 2003. Deaktor was in the process of converting more than 400 of the rental units to condos when it sold the property.
A Web site that lists South Florida real estate for sale indicates that many of the units marketed for the Devonaire complex were unsold.
Units listed as sold on the site ranged from $180,000 to $300,000.
The complex features a business center, playground, theater room, a billiards room and tennis and basketball courts.
The development’s Web site was not operating as of Monday afternoon.
Phone messages left for Deaktor Principal Scott Deaktor were not immediately returned. CB Richard Ellis broker Robert Given, who served as an adviser when Deaktor purchased the site, did not return phone calls seeking comment. Given and Gerard Yetming handled the transaction for CBRE.
The Devonaire deal marks the most expensive multifamily transaction in Broward County in more than a year. SCI Real Estate Investments of Los Angeles sold an apartment portfolio that included Forest Park in Oakland Park to an investment partnership led by Alliance Holdings of Chicago for $67 million in June 2007.
In today’s distressed condo market, the most logical strategy for Equity Residential is to convert the complex back to rental units, said Brad Capas, senior director of apartment brokerage services at Cushman & Wakefield’s Fort Lauderdale office. Capas was not involved in the Devonaire transaction, but he is marketing the nearby Pembroke Cove, a 302-unit rental property at 13401 NW Fifth St.
“What Equity bought was intact and well positioned to operate as a rental,” Capas said.
Other Pembroke Pines rental properties owned by Equity Residential include The Landings at Pembroke Lakes at 10650 Washington St. and Gatehouse at Pine Lake at 8530 SW First St.
The apartment rental sector in South Florida is showing signs of rebounding after being hurt by developers of failed condo conversion projects who flooded the market with unsold units for rent, Capas said.
Southwest Broward cities such as Pembroke Pines and Miramar generally avoided oversaturation and should appeal to large investors such as Equity, he said.
Equity Residential’s purchase could kick-start a wave of multifamily acquisitions in the region by firms who do not need significant financing, Capas said.
“The underlying fundamentals [of Southwest Broward] are very strong,” Capas said. “Many people live there and work in Miami-Dade. [The Devonaire properties] are relatively new properties in a great market. This is a good time for strategic investors to look at South Florida markets, with the investment market not quite as competitive as it has been.”
Deaktor had trouble with a similar condo conversion project in Kendall during the spring. Miami-Dade County delinquent tax records released in May indicated the company had not paid $1.12 million in taxes on The Residences at the Falls south of Southwest 137th Street and west of South Dixie Highway.
Deaktor is now stuck with about 370 units at that site.
Other South Florida conversions done by Deaktor include Briarwood in Kendall, the Lakes at Jacaranda in Plantation and San Michele in West Palm Beach.
Eric Kalis can be reached at ekalis@alm.com or at (305) 347-6651. |
Search the archive for more stories.
|
|
|
 |
|
lawjobs Featured Ad
Foreclosure Litigation Attorney Boca Raton office of expanding firm seeks an Experienced Litigator w/ min. 3 yrs. exp. Excellent salary and benefits package.
E-mail scleary@
logs.com |
|
|
|
|
|
|
