AvalonBay Communities has acquired a 270-unit apartment complex in Coconut Creek for $98.3 million, reflecting an increase in South Florida multifamily investment sales.
The Arlington, Virginia-based real estate investment trust purchased the property at 5401 Wiles Road from a partnership between Bainbridge Companies and Rockwood Capital, according to public records and Vizzda, a real estate data provider. The price equates to about $364,000 per unit.
Previously known as Solaire at Coconut Creek, the garden-style development was renamed Avalon Coconut Creek following the transaction. The complex was completed in 2013 and includes 12 three-story buildings along with amenities such as a clubhouse, gym, and pool on a 15.2-acre site. Apartments range from one to three bedrooms, with monthly rents between $2,200 and $3,100.
Bainbridge and Rockwood’s joint entity acquired the property for $69 million in 2022. Bainbridge is led by Richard Schechter, while Rockwood’s managing partners are David I. Becker and Tyson E. Skillings; Rockwood has offices in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and New York.
AvalonBay Communities is headed by Benjamin W. Schall and had nearly 95,000 apartments across the United States at the end of the first quarter this year. The company develops, redevelops, and acquires multifamily properties.
AvalonBay’s activity in South Florida has been sporadic. In 2021 it purchased the Avalon Miramar complex for $133 million in Miramar. Last September it spent $16.5 million on a nine-acre development site in Lake Worth Beach where it plans to build Northlake Promenade Apartments—a seven-story building with 279 units—adjacent to a Publix-anchored shopping plaza.
In recent months there has been a slight uptick in multifamily investment sales across South Florida after two years of slow activity due to high interest rates, tighter lending conditions, and weaker rental demand compared to earlier periods. Buyers who remain active have generally used all cash or secured financing through Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae rather than banks because those loans typically offer more favorable terms (https://therealdeal.com/miami/2024/07/10/investors-snap-up-apartment-complexes-in-south-florida-mostly-with-cash-or-freddie-fannie-debt/). Records indicate that AvalonBay did not record any mortgage for its Coconut Creek purchase.
Other notable recent deals include Crow Holdings’ $97.5 million acquisition of the 376-unit 33 West property in Davie without recording a mortgage last month; some buyers have also turned to stock buyouts for acquisitions.
This month saw Favo Capital purchase the 277-unit 1818 Park tower in Hollywood through an all-stock deal valued at $190 million that included assumption of liabilities.
