Starwood Buys Miami Rental for $371M in Priciest Sale of 2021

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Barry Sternlicht’s Starwood (STWD) Property Trust paid $371 million for a Miami rental complex, making it South Florida’s most expensive multifamily sale of the year so far.

The two-building property, Palmer Dadeland, is located at 8215 and 8217 SW 72 Avenue, just north of the Dadeland Mall and by the intersection of Snapper Creek Expressway and South Dixie Highway

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Dadeland’s sale, which closed on Aug. 25, equates to $439,692 per apartment, according to the S&P Global Ratings, which first reported the transaction. In absolute terms, the deal trumps Cortland’s purchase of a Boca Raton rental for $230 million in August, though not in the price per apartment.

Wells Fargo is providing $259.8 million in financing for the acquisition, according to S&P. The interest-only, floating-rate loan is expected to close Oct. 21, and mature two years later.

“The property demonstrated resilient occupancy and leasing activities during the COVID-19 pandemic,” S&P’s report noted. Nearly 98 percent of the property’s 844 units are leased with monthly rents averaging $2,292. 

Despite the eviction moratorium coming to an end in the region, property managers expect to issue eviction notices to less than 1 percent of renters, per S&P. Last month, rent collection at the property stood above 98 percent with 15 to 20 percent of the residents working in the health care industry.

The seller, Boca Raton-based Mill Creek Residential Trust, developed the complex, which was completed in 2019. 

Miami Beach-based Starwood Property Trust owns 349 apartment properties with 88,000 units, per S&P. About half of the units are in Florida. 

Representatives for Mill Creek and Starwood did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Julia Echikson can be reached at jechikson@commercialobserver.com.