BOYNTON BEACH, FL-New York City-based Tarragon Realty Investors has paid $74 million, or $203,297 a unit, for Via Lugano, a 364-unit multifamily rental complex at 1400 Via Lugano Circle. The seller was Blackrock Realty Advisors, also based in New York. Tarragon plans a conversion to for-sale condominiums.

"There was no asking price," Brad Capas of the Fort Lauderdale office of Cushman & Wakefield tells GlobeSt.com. Capas, a senior director of C&W's multifamily housing group, and Rosendo Caveiro, a director in the same office, represented Blackrock in the transaction and secured the buyer. "There were a couple of dozen bids," Capas says, adding that this price-per-unit is "among the highest ever paid in Boynton Beach.

"The area is a little unproven for condo conversion," he adds, "but this property's quality, design and amenities put it at the top tier here. Tarragon is a seasoned converter and recognized the property's construction quality and attention to detail." Furthermore, the eastern part of the city has gained momentum in the past two years, Capas says. He points to redevelopment along Via Lugano's Congress Avenue corridor and US 1.

Via Lugano was completed in 1999 and is 98% occupied. It contains 152 one-bedroom, 156 two-bedroom, and 56 three-bedroom units. The average unit size is 991 sf. Published rental rates range from between $950 and $1,075 a month for a one-bedroom unit, between $1,240 and $1,440 a month for a two-bedroom, and between $1,385 and $1,585 a month for a three-bedroom unit containing 1,370 sf. Pricing for the condos has not been set.