Investor sells 812 apartments for ‘strong returns’
Cortland Partners is acquiring the neighboring Arium Palm Cove and Arium at Laguna Lakes apartment complexes in West Palm Beach and will combine them into a single community called Portofino Place.
Terms of the acquisition weren’t disclosed. In March 2015, WPB Multifamily Owner, a joint venture between Carroll Organization and BlueMountain Capital, acquired the the 416-unit Laguna Lakes at 4400 Portofino Way for $58.13 million and the 396-unit Palm Cove at 4600 Portofino Way for $53.87 million.
County records show that WPB Multifamily Owner’s mortgage was recently transferred to Morgan Stanley Mortgage Capital Holdings and modified at $52 million. There was no transfer of the deed on the properties to new entities, which means no deed doc transfer taxes were paid.
Officials with Atlanta-based Cortland said the ownership structure of WPB Multifamily Owners was a REIT so Cortland purchased all the shares of that REIT instead of the deed to the property.
Cortland said it has significant upgrades and renovations planned for Portofino Place.
“We’ve had our eye on West Palm Beach for some time and feel it’s an attractive submarket to enter,” said Steven DeFrancis, CEO of Cortland Partners. “Occupancy rates are at an all-time high nationwide and demand for our specific housing offering is stronger than it’s ever been. We look forward to a fruitful, long-term investment future in an exciting location.”
Cortland owns nearly 35,000 apartment units in seven states.
Meanwhile, Carroll Organization announced that it produced “strong returns” from the sale of Palm Cove and Lagauna Lakes, but didn’t list the price. Carroll Organization CEO M. Patrick Carroll said it had success driving organic rent increases at the properties.
SOURCE: BIZJOURNALS.COM
