BOYNTON BEACH, FL - TruAmerica Multifamily has made its third significant investment in Florida in the past 30 days with a $49 million acquisition of Ashley Lake Park, a 300-unit apartment community in Boynton Beach.
Ashley Lake Park features a mix of one-, two- and three-bedroom apartment homes built around a small lake on a low-density 13.2-acre site. Amenities include a clubhouse with fitness center and internet café, two resort-style swimming pools, dog park and picnic areas. Only a small percentage of the units have been renovated since the project was built in 1988, creating a tremendous value-add opportunity for TruAmerica, according to TruAmerica Director Matthew Ferrari who leads the East Coast acquisition team for the Los Angeles-based investment firm.
“Ashley Lake Park represented an opportunity to acquire a very functional and well-maintained property with unrealized potential in a market with strong apartment fundamentals,” said Ferrari. “Our plan is to completely renovate all unit interiors with upgraded appliances and finishes and make modest improvements to the pool, clubhouse and fitness center. When completed, Ashley Park will be a first-to-rent property in a market where job growth is outpacing the inventory of new rental housing.”
In 2016, there were approximately 5.2 new jobs for every unit delivered in Palm Beach County, according to MPF Research.
The property benefits from its prime Boynton Beach location, which is midway between the major employment centers of West Palm Beach and Boca Raton, where employment growth over the last four years is nearly double the national average.
Mitch Clarfield of Berkeley Point Capital arranged the project financing through Freddie Mac’s “Green Rewards” program which provides guidelines on property specific initiatives to achieve energy and water savings.
TruAmerica made its first two investments in Florida earlier this month when it teamed with Investcorp to acquire a 708-unit, two-property apartment portfolio in Orlando, FL for $98 million.
“It has taken us a while to get here, but we are planning to be active investors in Florida and the Southeast and have several other deals in the pipeline,” said Ferrari.
The property was marketed for sale on behalf of the seller, a joint venture of Robbins Electra and LEM Capital by the ARA Newmark team of Vice Chairmen Richard Donnellan and Marc de Baptiste along with Executive Managing Directors Hampton Beebe and Avery Klann out of the Boca Raton office.
TruAmerica Multifamily is a vertically integrated, value-add multifamily investment firm based in Los Angeles. Founded in July 2013 as a joint venture between Robert Hart and The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America, TruAmerica has been one of the country's most active multifamily investors and manages a $6.7 billion portfolio of approximately 32,000 units across prime locations throughout Northern and Southern California, Washington, Oregon, Colorado, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Maryland and Florida.