Benjamin Companies put a 2.4-acre multifamily development site in Fort Lauderdale on the market for more than $33 million, amid elevated construction costs and slower rental growth.
Garden City, New York-based Benjamin Companies scored approval in 2022 for a pair of 33-story towers with 542 apartments, combined, and 13,800 square feet of commercial space on the full city block at 707 Southeast Third Avenue. The project also would have included a seven-story podium and 801 parking spaces.
Chris Lentz and Andrew Slowik lead the Cushman & Wakefield team marketing the site. They listed the site last month and will issue a call for offers due March 19.
Benjamin, led by CEO Denise Coyle, bought the site in 2022 for $33 million, according to records. The property consists of nine vacant lots and one lot with a six-story office building that was completed in 1972.
The building is 85 percent occupied, according to Kenneth Coyle, director at Benjamin.
“This was, from the start, a covered land play,” he said.
The listing comes amid a slowdown of South Florida’s multifamily market from the bonanza of 2020-2022. At the time, an influx of out-of-staters fueled unprecedented demand and record rent growth.
Developers seized on the boom with plans for new projects, completing a record 18,600 units last year, according to CoStar Group data. Net new leases trailed behind at 15,000, slowing down lease-ups and rental growth. The median monthly South Florida rent hit $2,344 in December, a 1 percent year-over-year drop.
The new supply is expected to be absorbed this year and next in light of a drop in multifamily construction starts.Developers are hitting the brakes on new projects due to elevated interest rates, higher labor and materials costs and skyrocketing insurance. Often, it’s difficult to pencil out the cost for a high-rise rental building, especially with podium parking, at the current rents, experts have said.
Lentz, the Cushman broker listing the site, countered that South Florida apartment rents are growing at a steady pace of 2 percent to 5 percent. Demand is expected to pick up next year,
once the recently completed units are leased up, he added.
Benjamin has a “substantial” development pipeline, mainly in New York, Lentz added.
Its completed projects include the Vistas of Port Jefferson, a residential complex for residents over 55, in Long Island; and the Arverne By The Sea apartments in Queens, according to its website.
In South Florida, Benjamin paid $145.5 million for the 327-apartment Morea apartment building at 601 North Federal Highway in Pompano Beach.
Last week, Fort Lauderdale scored two office deals, each one for over $200 million. Bradford Allen Investment Advisors paid $208 million for the Las Olas Centre I & II at 350 and 450 East Las Olas Boulevard. Lone Star Funds, Highline Real Estate Capital and Square2 Capital paid about $220 million for the Bank of America Plaza at Las Olas City Centre at 401 East Las Olas Boulevard.
