NORTHEAST FLORIDA
WRH Realty Services, Inc. Named One of Jacksonville Business Journals’ 2015 Best Places to Work
WRH Realty Services was recognized as one of 2015’s Best Places to Work and one of the Healthiest Employers in Jacksonville by the Jacksonville Business Journal. The Jacksonville Business Journal used Quantum Workplace to survey companies and crunch the numbers to see where workers were the happiest, to find out whose morale was the highest, to discover which businesses had the greatest intersection between work and fun. For more information, visit www.wrhrealty.com.
CENTRAL FLORIDA
Advocates for Homeless Appeal to Property Owners
The Homeless Services Network of Central Florida is looking for 300 to 500 homes for the first year of a voucher-based program, the Orlando Sentinel reported. Property owners would agree to accept fair-market housing vouchers but they'd still have the right to screen applicants and evict those who don't comply with their lease, officials said. Read more.
Downtown Orlando Development Plan Grows
A Virginia-based Jefferson Apartment Group is getting close to completing its 299-unit luxury apartment complex in downtown Orlando, and is proposing a mixed-use development that includes more than 1,100 additional apartments in downtown Orlando.
Mixed-Use Project in Maitland Gets Green Light
Maitland City Council has approved 315 apartments, retail and office space, and a 120-room hotel. DeveloperMMI DevelopmentInc. also plans a $2 million extension of Summit Centre Wayjust up the road from the RDV Sportsplex.
Reserves at Alafaya Sell for $42.7 million
A Canadian real estate investment fund paid $42.7 million for the Reserves at just outside east Orlando’s Avalon Park community. Alafaya Acquisition LLC spent about $161,700 per unit to buy the community that was just completed last year.
New Lake County Community May Start Construction Next Year
The proposed 15,000-acre Wellness Way community near Clermont may break ground in a year, if the state approves a plan for a health-and-wellness community with 16,500 residential units including single-family homes, town homes and apartments, and 12 million square feet for commercial, industrial and institutional space. Read more.
Apartments Planned for Poinciana Near Valencia College's New Campus
According to an Osceola County strategic plan document, the county will "be soliciting proposals for student housing near the Valencia site," which will be built on Pleasant Hill Road. The county will vote in September on the fiscal-year 2016 budget, and if approved, will issue a request for proposals for the building of apartments within three months. Read more.
Work to Start This Year on New Apartments Near SeaWorld
Altamonte Springs-based Picerne Development Corp. of Florida is finalizing plans for the Oasis at Grande Pines, a new 282-unit apartment community coming to Westwood Boulevard in southwest Orlando. Forum Architecture & Interior Design Inc. is the project designer; while Structural Concepts & Design is the structural engineer; Joseph, Lawrence & Co. is the mechanical-electrical-plumbing engineer and Poulos & Bennett is the civil engineer. Meanwhile, Picerne Development also expects to begin moving in residents later this year at its new 320-unit Oasis at Moss apartment complex near Lake Nona. Read more.
General Contractor Chosen for New Dr. Phillips Senior-Living Campus
Brasfield & Gorrie has been named general contractor of the 180-unit Spring Lake Health & Living Campus that is being developed by Harbor Retirement Associates, and will include 80 independent-living apartments, 70 assisted-living apartments and 30 memory-care apartments on 26 acres. Atlanta-based TWH Design is the architect. Read more.
Downtown’s Former AT&T Building May Become New Apartments
A Michigan real estate development company is looking into the idea of tearing down the former AT&T Building in downtown Orlando and rebuilding it into a 350-apartment community with ground-level retail that will offer a short walk to downtown’s Lynx Central Station/SunRail Station, according to marketing materials. Read more.
New York REIT Buys Orlando Apartments for $37M
New York-based Bluerock Residential Growth REIT Inc. bought the 252-unit Century Palms at World Gateway apartment community in Orlando for $37 million, or $146,825 per unit. Built in 2007, Century Palms is a Class A multifamily community that features one-, two- and three-bedroom units averaging 1,074 square feet. The average market rent for the community, located within the Celebration submarket, is about $1,170 per month. The company sourced the transaction off-market through its operating partner, Atlanta-based Carroll Organization. Century Palms will mark Bluerock Residential Growth's fourth investment in Orlando and its third investment with Carroll Organization, all in Florida. The previous two properties purchased with Carroll are Arium Grandewood in Orlando and Lansbrook Apartments in Tampa.
BAY AREA
Developer Revamps Plans for Apartments Near Oxford Exchange
Altman Development Corp. has nearly doubled the amount of retail space in Altis Grand Central, the 274-unit apartment complex the company is proposing on the 2.51-acre site at 504 Grand Central Ave. Its first proposal, filed with the city in April, was an apartment building and parking garage; in late June, the company revised its plans to include two 1,300-square-foot retail spaces fronting Grand Central Avenue. The northern building, fronting Grand Central Avenue, will be six stories, with 5,000 square feet of storefronts lining Grand Central. The parking garage will be eight stories, with an eighth-floor amenity deck that includes a pool, a two-lane bowling alley and a covered lounge area. On the roof of the lounge area will be a dog park and a demonstration kitchen, where the developer will host cooking events. Read more.
Westshore Apartment Boom Continues with $56M New Development
Richman Group of Florida Inc. has broken ground on a $56 million development that will bring 300 new apartments to former Without Walls International Church property in Westchase. The four-story development will be a mix of studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments ranging from 574 to 1,628 square feet. It will include a pool, a two-level clubhouse, fitness center and yoga/spin studio, among other amenities. Richman is also building the Aurora, a five-story, 351-unit apartment development in downtown Tampa. Read more.
$45M Apartments Break Ground in North Hyde Park
Pollack Shores Real Estate Group of Atlanta is building Havana Square, a 274-unit apartment complex across North Rome Avenue from NoHo Flats. Pollack Shores developed NoHo Flats in summer 2014 and sold it a few months later for $57.25 million or $184,084 per apartment. Read more.
Hunt Mortgage Group Refinances 4 Multifamily Properties in Tampa
Hunt Mortgage Group, a commercial real estate lender, announced that it has provided four Freddie Mac small loans that total $6.5 million to refinance four separate multifamily properties in Tampa. The borrower is KAIN Cares LP, a Florida Limited Partnership, backed by Harsch and Anita Khandelwal. The properties include:
Chart House on Rocky Point Waterfront to be Redeveloped into Apartments
ZOM USA, an Orlando-based real estate developer, is under contract to acquire Tampa's Chart House building and its 4.57 acres on the Rocky Point waterfront, and plans to build a community of four or five stories, with a yet-undetermined number of apartments. ZOM expects to close on the property in late 2015 or early 2016. Read more.
Developer: Tampa Tribune Site will be Mid-Rise Rental Apartments
A mid-rise residential project planned for the Tampa Tribune's riverfront headquarters will be rental apartments and not condos, says it’s developer, the Miami-based Related Group. Read more.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA
Northland Acquires 332-Unit Cypress Legends Apartment Community in Fort Myers
Northland Investment Corporation has acquired the Class A 332-unit Cypress Legends in Fort Myers. In the past 12 months, Northland has acquired seven properties in Florida and its expanding national portfolio now includes more than 22,000 apartment homes. With the addition of Cypress Legends, Northland owns and operates 23 properties and 6,626 apartment homes throughout Florida. Read more.
SOUTHEAST FLORIDA
Waterfront Apartment Complex in Fort Lauderdale Sells for $27M
Gateway Terrace Inc., an affiliate of Orlando-based Westminster Communities of Florida, sold the Gateway Terrace apartments along the Middle River in Fort Lauderdale to Gateway Terrace II LLC, an affiliate of Memphis, Tennessee-based Housing Preservation Inc., for $27 million. Both parties are nonprofit organizations that own affordable housing. Pillar Multifamily LLC provided a $24.3 million Fannie Mae-backed loan to the buyer. Read more.
West Palm Beach Apartment Complex Sold for $20M
The Cityview Apartments in West Palm Beach were sold for $20 million to a California-based investor. City View Gardens Associates, an affiliate of Norfolk, Virgina-based Harbor Group International, sold the property at 500 N. Congress Ave. to Cityview Apartments LLC, an affiliate of Los Angeles-based Investors Management Group. Read more.
Richman Group Building $47 Million Azura in Kendall
The Richman Group of Florida, Inc. has begun construction on Azura, a $47 million luxury apartment community in Kendall, Fla. Azura is the fifth multifamily luxury residential project that The Richman Group of Florida, Inc. has closed on in Florida within the last 12 months. The community includes 240 apartments in eight three-story garden style buildings Completion is scheduled for summer of 2016. For more information, visitwww.azurakendall.com.
Developer Proposes 347-Unit Apartment Building in Fort Lauderdale
Putnam Realty and 441 Developers have proposed the Morgan on 3rd Avenue, a $75 million project with 357 apartments, 4,292 square feet ground floor retail, and 506 parking spaces. Units would range from 575 square feet for a studio apartment to 1,446 square feet for a three-bedroom unit. MSA Architects and Botek Thurlow Engineering designed the site plan. Read more.
Developer Plans 280 Apartments in South Miami-Dade
Miami-based AHS Development wants to build 280 apartments in the Naranja area of southern Miami-Dade County. Deering Grove would be located on the 9.3-acre site at the southwest corner of Southwest 256th Street and Southwest 137th Avenue, and would total 96,279 square feet, with 280 apartments and 2,850 square feet of retail. The three-story buildings were designed by Chisholm Architects. Read more.
Miami Considers Multifamily Project on Coral Way
A 61-unit residential project in the Shenandoah neighborhood has been proposed. It would include an eight-story building with a three-story parking deck at 2240 S.W. 13th Ave. and 1300 to 1312 S.W. 22nd Street (Coral Way). The area is just south of Little Havana and north of Coconut Grove. Read more.
AMLI Plans 700 Apartments Near Midtown Miami
AMLI Residential has proposed 700 apartments in neighboring projects in Miami’s Midtown neighborhood. The vacant land at 2900 to 3010 N.E. 2nd Ave. is currently owned by Midtown Opportunities XIVB LLC, part of a lender that took over the property during the recession. Chicago-based apartment developer AMLI is listed on the application as having it under contract. In the plans crafted by Zyscovich Architects, one building would have 485 units in 12 stories and a second would have 215 units in eight stories. Read more.
River Central Proposed with 581 Apartments in Miami
A developer has proposed building a 581-unit apartment project in Miami’s Overtown neighborhood. River Central would be located on the 4.2-acre site at 650 N.W. 8th St. The land is owned by Windsor Investment Holdings, a Coral Gables-based company. Read more.
Related Group Sells Downtown Fort Lauderdale Apartment Complex for $149M
The Related Group has sold the 382-unit Manor at Flagler Village in Fort Lauderdale for $148.89 million. RD Flagler Village, an affiliate of the Miami-based developer, sold the complex at 501 N. Federal Highway to T-C The Manor at Flagler Village, an affiliate of TIAA-CREF. That equates to $389,764 a unit for the property, built in 2014. TIAA-CREF paid $52.1 million in October for the Manor Apartments in Plantation. Read more.
Lennar Launches $1.1B Multifamily Investment Fund
Lennar Corp. is partially bankrolling a $1.1 billion fund to invest in multifamily properties in the nation’s Top 25 markets. The Miami-based developer said Lennar Multifamily Venture was funded with $504 million from Lennar, and the rest from global sovereign and institutional investors. It already has 19 undeveloped multifamily projects with 6,120 units, valued at about $2.1 billio, that were either owned by Lennar’s multifamily division or are under contract.
Big-Name Developers Competing for $74M Miami-Dade Affordable Housing Project
Some of South Florida’s biggest builders are among the six developers competing to redevelop Liberty Square in Miami as part of the county’s $74 million affordable housing project. The Liberty Square Rising project would create a new income-restricted community on the Lincoln Gardens site at 4750 N.W. 24th Court, and relocate the residents of the older 753-unit Liberty Square buildings, which would be demolished and rebuilt on the 67-acre site at 1415 N.W. 63rd St. Read more.
Pinnacle Housing Group Wants to Build 250 Affordable Housing Units Near Cutler Ridge in Southern Miami-Dade County
Caribbean Village, an affiliate of the Miami-based developer, filed a zoning application with the county to build the project on a 3.4-acre site that’s currently a parking lot for the South Miami-Dade Busway, a dedicated lane for county buses that runs along U.S. 1 to the Dadeland South Metrorail Station. The units would primarily be restricted to people making no more than 60 percent of average median income, with some units reserved for those earnings 30 percent or less. Read more.
North Miami Beach to Consider The Highlands Apartment Project
Nicover LLC, a Bay Harbor Islands-based company managed by Jorge Savloff, wants to build The Highlands, a 60-unit seven-story apartment building at 13780 Highland Drive. North Miami Beach recently rezoned a large area to encourage more dense development. Read more.
Greystar Buys Apartments Near Boynton Beach for $35.5M
An affiliate of national apartment investor Greystar bought the Colony Club apartments west of Boynton Beach for $35.5 million. Advenir WI@Boynton, an affiliate of Aventura-based apartment investor Advenir, sold the 214-unit complex, at 7132 Colony Club Drive, to GS Colony, a subsidiary of Charleston, South Carolina-based Greystar. Branch Banking & Trust Co. financed the deal with a $25.3 million mortgage. Read more.
Brenner Proposes Apartment Tower in Pompano Beach
Brenner Real Estate Group wants to build an eight-story apartment tower in Pompano Beach. 225 North Federal Highway LLC, an affiliate of the Fort Lauderdale-based developer headed by President and CEO Scott Brenner, has a pending application before the city to build 147 units for a total of 163,438 square feet. Read more.
FinalPhase of $1 Billion Mixed Use Project Breaks Ground in Downtown Miami
MDM Group broke ground on the fourth and final phase of its $1B downtown Miami project. Met Square, a 43-story tower located at 340 S.E. 3rd Street, was designed by Nichols, Brosch, Wurst, Wolfe & Associates. It will feature 391 apartments, restaurants, retail, an 18-screen Silverspot Cinema, a pool deck on the commercial complex and a viewing area of Tequesta Native American historical sites located on the property. Previous phases of Met Square included Hotel Beaux Arts Miami, JW Marriott Marquis Miami, Whole Foods Market, apartments and office space. The 3rd phase that is currently under construction has 462 apartments and is expected to be completed in Q 2016. The total Met Square project should be completed by mid-2017. Read more.