Walker & Dunlop, Inc. announced today that it completed the $79,250,000 sale of Sunny Lake Apartments, a 405-unit, garden-style community in Lauderhill, Florida. The 1988 vintage property represented a unique value-add investment opportunity within the highly desirable suburban Broward County area and adjacent to the affluent community of Plantation.
With its ideal central location, Sunny Lake is just minutes from the primary employment, entertainment, and cultural hubs of suburban Broward County. Connectivity to all other areas of South Florida is conveniently accessed via Florida’s Turnpike, which is less than two miles from the community.
The sale was handled by Walker & Dunlop's Still Hunter and Kaya Suarez, who represented the seller, Bar Invest Group, in the disposition. Mr. Suarez commented, “Over the past 24 months, ownership has invested $2 million in a partial repositioning of the community, which has already increased property performance. With additional apartments remaining to be updated and other enhancements available, Sunny Lake represents a tremendous, proven value-add investment opportunity.”
Herve Barbera, CEO of Bar Invest Group, said the firm renovated Sunny Lake to improve the property and increased rents by 25% during the last two years of its ownership. The apartment complex was 98% occupied at the time of sale. “Our business plan is to acquire properties where we see rents are below market and complete renovations to improve the property, increase rents, and stabilize the asset in three to five years,” Barbera said.
The buyer is a joint venture between East Hill Capital Partners, The Bascom Group, and Leste Group, with Leste Group participating as the majority equity investor. New ownership is anticipating a multi-million-dollar renovation plan to improve the property’s common areas and in-unit finishes. Bridge Investment Group provided the debt financing for the acquisition, which was arranged by Walker & Dunlop SVP & Managing Director Stuart Wernick.
“We are very excited to enter the Plantation submarket by acquiring Sunny Lake Apartments at an attractive basis. Our venture plans to invest in the property and community, with the ultimate goal of enhancing the resident experience and improving the lives of our residents. East Hill, Bascom, and Leste will actively pursue other value-add multifamily investment opportunities throughout Florida,” stated Duff Bedrosian, Founder and Managing Partner of East Hill Capital Partners.
Sunny Lake is situated on nearly 27 acres, featuring a scenic lake and boasting a very low density of just 15 units to the acre, a rarity in South Florida. The spacious community features an appealing neighborhood feel and provides ample space for its exceptional amenity package, which includes a large clubhouse and leasing center, fitness facilities, a business center, and a lakefront pool.
Walker & Dunlop is a leader in multifamily property sales, having completed $6.1 billion in property sales volume in 2020. The firm was also the top provider of capital to the U.S. multifamily market, originating $31 billion in transactions and lending over $24 billion for multifamily properties in 2020. For information about Walker & Dunlop's view on the apartment market, read our recently-released Summer 2021 Multifamily Outlook Report.
About Walker & Dunlop
Walker & Dunlop (NYSE: WD) is the largest provider of capital to the multifamily industry in the United States and the fourth largest lender on all commercial real estate including industrial, office, retail, and hospitality. Walker & Dunlop enables real estate owners and operators to bring their visions of communities — where Americans live, work, shop and play — to life. The power of our people, premier brand, and industry-leading technology make us more insightful and valuable to our clients, providing an unmatched experience every step of the way. With over 1,000 employees across every major U.S. market, Walker & Dunlop has consistently been named one of Fortune’s Great Places to Work® and is committed to making the commercial real estate industry more inclusive and diverse while creating meaningful social, environmental, and economic change in our communities.
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