The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, through its real estate investment arm Property Reserve, has acquired the 384-unit Del Ola apartment complex in Boca Raton for $152.5 million. The purchase price amounts to over $397,100 per unit.
Property Reserve, based in Salt Lake City, Utah, bought the property at 7801 North Federal Highway from a Clarion Partners affiliate. According to records and real estate database Vizzda, Del Ola consists of 19 three-story apartment buildings, a two-story clubhouse and five one-story garages on a 17.4-acre site. The complex was completed in 2012 and 2013. Clarion Partners had purchased the property for $120.8 million in 2019.
Del Ola offers one- to three-bedroom apartments with monthly rents ranging from $2,169 to $4,802.
This acquisition is part of a series of investments by Property Reserve in South Florida since 2023. The company also owns Beacon Logistics Park in Hialeah—a 1.3 million-square-foot industrial campus on 75 acres—purchased from Codina Partners and Affinius Capital through several transactions totaling over $230 million.
Last year, Property Reserve bought the eight-story Ellsworth apartment building in Plantation for $133 million and the Elan Polo Gardens complex near Wellington for $102.4 million.
The church’s significant real estate holdings have drawn criticism regarding their size and financial transparency. In 2023, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and its investment manager Ensign Peak Advisors settled with the Securities and Exchange Commission for a total of $5 million over claims that the church’s portfolio was obscured through multiple limited liability companies; neither party admitted nor denied wrongdoing as part of the settlement.
Farmland Reserve, another church investment arm, paid $289 million last year for farmland across the United States—including properties in Florida—as reported by the New York Post.
Multifamily investment sales have increased recently in South Florida despite high interest rates and slowing rent growth. Many buyers are turning to Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae loans or using alternative financing methods such as assuming existing debt or making all-cash purchases. For this transaction, Property Reserve did not record a mortgage on Del Ola.
Other recent multifamily deals include AvalonBay Communities’ purchase of Avalon Coconut Creek for $98.3 million without recording a mortgage and Favo Capital’s acquisition of the 1818 Park tower via an all-stock deal combined with assumption of liabilities.
“The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has faced criticism over its massive real estate holdings, construction of grandiose temples and opaque financials, allowed by limited public disclosure requirements,” according to records related to previous settlements involving church-owned entities.
