Woodfield Development and Flagler Realty & Development scored an $80.6 million construction loan for a 358-unit mixed-use multifamily project in West Palm Beach.
The developers plan the eight-story apartment building with 19,000 square feet of retail space on a 6.5-acre vacant site at 8111 South Dixie Highway, according to Woodfield’s December news release announcing the start of construction. The site borders the C-51 Canal to the south.
PNC Bank is the administrative agent for a group of lenders that provided the financing, records show. Woodfield and Flagler Realty leased the development site from the city, according to records.
The project is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of next year, with move-ins expected to start in the third quarter of next year, according to the release. About 15,000 square feet of the retail space is preleased to a grocery store.
The project will consist of studios and one- to three-bedroom units, with apartments ranging from 500 square feet to 1,388 square feet, the release says. Of the 358 units, 90 will be at affordable rents.
Affordable housing generally targets households earning anywhere from 30 percent to 120 percent of the area median income. Palm Beach County’s annual AMI is $111,800, according to the Florida Housing Finance Corporation.
Woodfield, a Charleston, South Carolina-based multifamily and mixed-use development firm, was founded in 2005 by Mike Underwood and Greg Bonifield, according to its website. It initially focused on North Carolina and South Carolina, as well as the Washington, D.C., area, eventually expanding throughout the Eastern Seaboard. It completed its first Florida project, the 251-unit Oversea at Flagler Banyan Square in West Palm, in 2020.
West Palm-based Flagler Realty is a commercial real estate family office founded in 1996 by Patrick Koenig, Richard Johnson Jr. and Scott Johnson, its website says. Its portfolio spans more than 100,000 square feet of retail, restaurant, office and industrial real estate.
West Palm has become a magnet for developers, with billionaire Steve Ross leading the investment and construction spree. Ross, who is now primarily focusing on West Palm through his Related Ross firm that he launched last year, has nine office buildings in the city, including those purchased, completed, under construction and planned. Related Ross also has apartment and condo projects in West Palm.
This month, Toronto-based family office Coco Group entered the downtown West Palm market with its $45.7 million purchase of the Echo, a 100-year-old retail and office building at 205 Datura Street.
South Florida’s multifamily market is experiencing a slight oversupply of units after developers completed a record 18,600 apartments last year, according to CoStar Group data. Net new leases lagged at 15,000.
Demand is expected to catch up to supply by year-end and next year partly due to a slowdown of construction starts.
Construction financing has continued to flow in South Florida, despite higher interest rates, skyrocketing insurance and other headwinds. This month, Swiss firm Empira Group scored $111.3 million to build the 26-story, 310-unit Perrin apartment tower at 244 Southwest Ninth Street in Miami’s Brickell. Last month, MG Developer landed a $105 million construction loan for a 10-story, 347-unit apartment project at 954 and 934 East 25th Street in Hialeah.
Read more
Related Ross, partners buy WPTV’s studio and offices in West Palm for $40M
BREAKING: Steve Ross launches firm focused on West Palm investments, steps back from Related
Mapping out Stephen Ross’ South Florida conquests
