Stuart Apartments Trade for $190,000 Per Unit

The buyer paid developer Bainbridge Communities of Wellington, a West Palm Beach suburb, $190,000 per unit for the asset, one of the highest this year for a comparable multifamily property, area brokers tell GlobeSt.com. Kevin Judd and Marc deBaptiste of the Florida office of Apartment Realty Advisors brokered the transaction.

"The appetite for multifamily property purchases is robust," says deBaptiste, an ARA principal. "Buyers are now expanding beyond just the major MSAs for investment. Second- and third-tier markets are seeing significant interest from all buyer types." Average monthly rents are $970 to $2,000 or an average 95 cents per sf, deBaptiste tells GlobeSt.com.

Although Philadelphia Management says it specializes in converting obsolete commercial properties into "vibrant, upscale multifamily and mixed-use communities," acquiring the new Stuart property was an opportunity it couldn't afford to pass up, according to Judd, a senior vice president at ARA.

The property "represented a truly unique investment opportunity due to several key factors," Judd says. "First, the unparalleled quality of the units and physical appeal of the property sets the standard for multifamily product in the region. Second, the property's infill location, just one mile from US 1 and the Intracoastal Waterway [St. Lucie River] exhibits significant barriers to entry. Lastly, Martin County's strict growth management policies limit the possibility of similar product being developed [nearby] in the near future."