The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ real estate investment arm picked up a 384-unit apartment complex in Boca Raton for $152.5 million.
The deal marks the church’s continuing investment in South Florida properties over the past two years. The religious institution has made the purchases through Property Reserve, which invests church reserve funds in commercial real estate.
Salt Lake City, Utah-based Property Reserve bought the Del Ola complex at 7801 North Federal Highway from an affiliate of New York-based Clarion Partners, according to records and real estate database Vizzda. The deal breaks down to over $397,100 per unit.
Completed in 2012 and 2013, Del Ola consists of 19 three-story apartment buildings, a two-story clubhouse and five one-story garages on a 17.4-acre site, Vizzda and Palm Beach County records show. Clarion Partners, led by David Gilbert, had paid $120.8 million for the complex in 2019.
Del Ola has one-bedroom to three-bedroom apartments, with monthly rents ranging from $2,169 to $4,802, according to its website.
Property Reserve, led by Ashley Powell, has purchased at least three properties in South Florida since 2023.
It owns the 1.3 million-square-foot Beacon Logistics Park, an industrial campus on 75 acres in Hialeah. It purchased it from developers Codina Partners and Affinius Capital in several deals. In 2023, Property Reserve paid $174.3 million for several buildings and outparcels at Beacon Logistics and $55.8 million for another warehouse.
Last year, it bought the eight-story, 315-unit Ellsworth apartment building at 1301 Southwest 80th Terrace in Plantation for $133 million; as well as the 284-unit Elan Polo Gardens at 4310 Chukka Lane in unincorporated Palm Beach County, near Wellington, for $102.4 million.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has faced criticism over its massive real estate holdings, construction of grandiose temples and opaque financials, allowed by limited public disclosure requirements. In 2023, the church and its investment manager, Ensign Peak Advisors, settled for $1 million and $4 million, respectively, over the Securities and Exchange Commission’s claims the church’s portfolio was obscured through about a dozen limited liability companies. The church and Ensign neither admitted nor denied wrongdoing in the settlement.
Farmland Reserve, another investment arm for the church, last year paid $289 million for 46 farms nationwide, including in Florida, the New York Post reported.
South Florida multifamily investment sales are experiencing an uptick in recent months, despite elevated interest rates, a slowdown of demand and lease-ups, and flat –– and even declining –– rent growth.
Many of those still buying apartments are using Freddie Mac and Fannie loans, financing from insurance firms or are finding other workarounds such as assuming buyers’ existing debt on a property or purchasing all cash. Property Reserve did not record a mortgage on the Del Ola purchase.
This month, AvalonBay Communities paid $98.3 million for the 270-unit Avalon Coconut Creek apartment complex at 5401 Wiles Road in Coconut Creek, and Favo Capital purchased the 22-story, 277-unit 1818 Park apartment tower at 1818 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood for $190 million. AvalonBay didn’t record a mortgage, and Favo completed the purchase though an all-stock and assumption of liabilities deal.
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