Spanish billionaire Amancio Ortega’s Ponte Gadea bought a 259-unit apartment tower in downtown Fort Lauderdale for $165 million, marking one of South Florida’s biggest multifamily sales so far this year.
The Pérez’s family’s Related Group sold the 44-story Veneto Las Olas at 201 South Federal Highway, after completing the tower last year, according to records.
Veneto traded for less than Coconut Grove-based Related’s asking price of $230 million. The firm had listed the building in February. The sale price equates to $637,066 per unit.
“The terms of the deal were as important to us as the price and we had three bids higher than the buyer’s price,” said Related’s broker Robert Given, adding that Veneto had 17 offers.
Given worked with Troy Ballard, both of CBRE, to represent Related in the sale.
Miami-based Ponte Gadea has been investing in South Florida properties for years.
In 2016, the firm bought the Southeast Financial Center at 200 South Biscayne Boulevard in downtown Miami for $516.6 million. The purchase marked the biggest office deal that year. Ponte Gadea paid $113 million in 2023 for the 312,000-square-foot freezer warehouse Bridge Point Cold Logistics Center at 3995 West 108th Street in Hialeah.
Elsewhere in South Florida, Ponte Gadea owns the 15-story office building at 2701 South Le Jeune Road in Coral Gables; and the hotel portion at Epic Hotel & Residences, a condo-hotel at 200 Biscayne Boulevard Way in downtown Miami. Epic Hotel and the condo association representing unit owners have been locked in a legal battle over assessments and control of the common areas, a frequent tussle at South Florida condo-hotels.
Ortega, who Forbes pegs as the 10th richest person in the world with a net worth of $126 billion, is the founder of fast fashion stores Zara and Bershka. Ponte Gadea is his real estate investment firm.
In 2023, Ponte Gadea made a splash in Chicago when it paid $232 million for the 45-story, 492-unit 727 West Madison Street apartment tower in the West Loop.
The Veneto Las Olas deal comes amid a slowdown of multifamily trades in South Florida compared with the deal flurry of 2021 and 2022 when rental demand and rate hikes reached record levels. Over the past three years, elevated interest rates, skyrocketing insurance and a slowdown of the influx of out-of-staters have calmed investment sales. Rents have plateaued, and even dropped in some submarkets.
Some banks also have retrenched from lending, which they often do when markets are off balance, with private lenders filling in the gaps. Records show Ponte Gadea’s entity that purchased Veneto Las Olas didn’t take out a loan.
In other South Florida apartment deals, Related and 13th Floor Investments bought the 285-unit waterfront Town Aventura apartment complex at 17900 Northeast 31st Court in Aventura for $96.5 million in January.
Also, the Toledano family’s BH Group paid $83 million in February for the 338-unit Wake Biscayne Bay with three 10-story buildings at 7501 and 7525 East Treasure Drive in North Bay Village.
Fort Lauderdale was largely overlooked during the rush on South Florida real estate in 2021 and 2022, which mostly focused on Miami and West Palm Beach. This year, the city emerged as a magnet for developers and investors.
In February, DWS Group sold the 23-story Bank of America Plaza at Las Olas City Centre at 401 East Las Olas Boulevard for $220 million; and the two-building Las Olas Centre I & II office complex at 350 and 450 East Las Olas Boulevard for $208 million. Both properties are in downtown Fort Lauderdale.
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