Waterton Residential has sold the 427-unit District West Gables apartment complex in West Miami for $111 million, a price that reflects a 4.7 percent decrease from what the firm paid nearly ten years ago.
Federal Capital Partners (FCP), based in Chevy Chase, Maryland, acquired the property, which consists of two seven-story buildings located at 2001 and 2101 Ludlam Road/Southwest 67th Avenue. The transaction equates to approximately $259,953 per unit.
Waterton, headquartered in Chicago and led by CEO David Schwartz, originally purchased the two buildings in separate transactions. In 2016, Waterton bought the 206-unit building at 2101 Ludlam Road for $57.4 million shortly after its completion by South Miami-based Estate Companies. The following year, Waterton acquired the building at 2001 Ludlam Road for $59 million after Estate completed its construction. Both properties were developed under Estate’s Soleste multifamily brand by Robert Suris and Jeff Ardizon.
District West Gables occupies a 4.1-acre site and features studio to three-bedroom apartments, according to property records and Apartments.com listings. Rental prices are not currently disclosed.
The acquisition marks FCP’s third multifamily purchase in South Florida within the past year. In December, FCP bought Solena Miramar—a 250-unit complex—for $67.5 million at 3155 Southwest 147th Terrace in Miramar. In February, it acquired Arium Sunrise—a 400-unit property—for $90 million at 1501 Northwest 124th Terrace in Sunrise.
FCP is led by CEO Garland Faist and reports having invested or financed more than $14.6 billion across residential and commercial properties nationwide since its founding in 1999. The company manages six funds with combined assets totaling $4.2 billion.
According to FCP’s announcement of the District West Gables purchase, the firm plans renovations to common areas, amenities, and individual apartments. Greystar has been hired as property manager for the complex. Public records indicate that no mortgage was recorded on this sale, suggesting an all-cash transaction.
This sale comes as South Florida’s multifamily market shows signs of stabilization after heightened activity during the pandemic period. In recent years, higher interest rates and an increased supply—resulting from record levels of new apartment development—have contributed to slower investment sales and stagnating or declining rents compared to previous growth periods.
Developers finished a record-setting number of apartments last year—18,600 units—which surpassed net leases signed for just over 15,000 units during that time frame (https://www.costar.com/article/1843099990/floridas-apartment-boom-outpaces-demand-as-new-units-hit-market).
Recent months have seen a rise in multifamily sales activity as investors seek alternatives to traditional bank financing—including all-cash purchases or utilizing government-backed loans from Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae or assuming existing seller debt (https://www.freddiemac.com/multifamily/investors/loan-products.html;https://www.fanniemae.com/multifamily).
One example is Spanish billionaire Amancio Ortega’s all-cash acquisition of Veneto Las Olas—a Fort Lauderdale tower purchased for $165 million (https://therealdeal.com/miami/2024/06/10/amancio-ortega-pays-165m-for-fort-lauderdale-tower-in-all-cash-deal/). Additionally, Related Fund Management secured a Freddie Mac loan for its recent purchase of Aura Delray Beach while The Milestone Group assumed an existing Fannie Mae loan—and borrowed additional funds—to buy Casa Brera near Boynton Beach (https://therealdeal.com/miami/2024/07/05/the-milestone-group-buys-palm-beach-county-complex-for-46m-assumes-loan/).
