Griffis Residential paid $78.5 million for a West Palm Beach apartment complex as part of its newly launched multifamily fund, despite lingering challenges facing the South Florida rental market.
Suffern, New York-based Castle Lanterra, led by Elie Rieder, sold the eight-story, 263-unit property at 805 North Olive Avenue, according to property records and the real estate database Vizzda.
Greenwood Village, Colorado-based Griffis financed the deal with a $56.7 million loan from Northmarq Capital, which matures in 2036.
The sale price breaks down to nearly $300,000 per unit.
The building, consisting of studios, one- and two-bedroom units, was rebranded to Griffis North Olive from Loftin Place. It was completed in 2015 on a 2.5-acre site. The building previously traded for $63.5 million in 2017, property records show.
The purchase is part of Griffis’ recently launched Griffis Premium Apartment Fund VII, which is targeting $550 million in investments. Griffis is seizing on underperforming properties with value-add potential in markets with healthy economic indicators, according to a news release. As a whole, Griffis’s portfolio spans nearly 10,000 units in 31 communities across 13 markets nationwide, according to the release.
Griffis, led by Ian Griffis and David Birnbaum, has been investing in South Florida multifamily. It paid $41 million in January for the 144-unit building at 275 North Federal Highway in Pompano Beach, and it also paid $87 million in June for the 223-unit building at 345 Banyan Boulevard in downtown West Palm.
The firm’s purchases in West Palm comes as the city, and especially its downtown, have experienced a boom largely due to billionaire Steve Ross’ hefty investment in the area. Ross, through his Related Ross, is the biggest office landlord and also has completed and plans additional multifamily projects in downtown West Palm.
South Florida’s apartment market as a whole still is experiencing some softness after developers completed a record 18,600 units in 2024, just as the domestic in-migration slowed. This led to longer lease-ups and more concessions at apartment buildings in South Florida.
In January, the average asking rent for a South Florida apartment hit just over $2,200 per month, or a 4 percent decrease, year-over-year, according to Realtor.com.
Still, investment sales have remained sporadic. Last month, Dermot Company paid $131.8 million for the 340-unit Quaye at Palm Beach Gardens at 10000 South Gardens Drive in Palm Beach Gardens. Also, in January, IMC Equity Group paid $33.5 million for the 204-unit garden-style Pine Groves at 24101 South Dixie Highway in Princeton, a 24 percent discount from its price four years ago.
Palm Beach County’s total multifamily investment sales volume reached $1.9 billion last year, outpacing the $1.1 billion and $668 million in 2024 and 2023, respectively, according to Avison Young. Last year’s sales were on par with the $1.9 billion in sales in 2022 and less than the $3.9 billion in 2021.
Read more
Development
South Florida
“Don’t kill the market”: Developers keep building apartments in South Florida, despite supply overhang
Development
South Florida
“The world turned”: Why developers are selling South Florida multifamily sites
