Waterton Residential has sold the 427-unit District West Gables apartment complex in West Miami for $111 million, representing a 4.7 percent decrease from its purchase price nearly ten years ago.
Federal Capital Partners (FCP), based in Chevy Chase, Maryland, acquired the property from Chicago-based Waterton. The transaction equates to approximately $259,953 per unit. Waterton, under CEO David Schwartz, had bought the two-building complex at 2001 and 2101 Ludlam Road/Southwest 67th Avenue for a combined $116.4 million through separate transactions in 2016 and 2017. The initial purchase included the 206-unit building at 2101 Ludlam Road for $57.4 million in 2016, followed by the acquisition of the newly completed building at 2001 Ludlam Road for $59 million in 2017.
The complex was developed by Estate Companies under its Soleste brand, led by Robert Suris and Jeff Ardizon. It occupies a 4.1-acre site and features studios as well as one- to three-bedroom apartments.
This acquisition marks FCP’s third multifamily investment in South Florida within less than a year. In December, FCP purchased the Solena Miramar complex in Miramar for $67.5 million and earlier this year acquired Arium Sunrise in Sunrise for $90 million.
According to FCP’s website, since its founding in 1999, the firm has invested or financed more than $14.6 billion across residential and commercial properties nationwide and currently manages six funds totaling $4.2 billion in assets.
FCP plans to renovate common areas, amenities, and apartments at District West Gables and has hired Greystar as property manager. No mortgage was recorded with this sale, indicating that FCP likely paid all cash for the property.
The sale comes amid slower activity in South Florida’s multifamily market compared to pandemic highs. Over the past two years, higher interest rates and an oversupply of new developments have slowed investment sales and stabilized or decreased rents across the region. Last year saw a record completion of about 18,600 new apartments—more than net leases signed during that period—according to CoStar data (https://www.costar.com/).
Despite these challenges, there has been a recent uptick in sales activity as investors find alternatives to traditional bank financing by using all-cash deals or government-backed loans such as those from Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae.
In June, Amancio Ortega paid $165 million in cash for Veneto Las Olas tower in Fort Lauderdale (https://therealdeal.com/miami/2024/06/13/amancio-ortega-buys-las-olas-apartment-tower-for-165m/). Related Fund Management recently secured a Freddie Mac loan for its $116.9 million purchase of Aura Delray Beach (https://therealdeal.com/miami/2024/07/15/related-fund-management-buys-delray-beach-apartments-for-117m/) while The Milestone Group assumed an existing loan and borrowed additional funds when buying Casa Brera near Boynton Beach (https://therealdeal.com/miami/2024/07/12/milestone-group-pays-46m-for-boynton-area-apartments-assumes-loan-on-property/).
