Kolter pays $17.25M for vacant Las Olas land

The Kolter Group, a West Palm Beach-based development firm, just paid $17.25 million to acquire a piece of vacant land in Fort Lauderdale’s booming neighborhood of East Las Olas, according to Palm Beach County records. 

The land measures 0.87 acres and is located at 100 East Las Olas Boulevard. It sits directly next to the 42-story Las Olas River House condo tower, and is currently being used as an unpaved parking lot.

Kolter paid roughly $450 per square foot to acquire the land from a company titled SVP Las Olas, an affiliate of Simmons Vedder Partners. Simmons has offices in Texas and Washington, D.C., and specializes in both acquiring and developing multifamily and commercial properties, according to its website. Kolter financed the deal with a $9.5 million loan from Wells Fargo Bank.

The developer is in the initial stages of proposing a condo tower and hotel on the land, along with retail and restaurant space. The buildings would be separate from each other, according to an article in the South Florida Business Journal.

The land last sold for $14.925 million in 2007, according to Broward County property records. Its price has sharply appreciated over the years — its first recorded sale in 1998 was for $7 million.

Fort Lauderdale has been experiencing new-found attention from developers and homebuyers. The region has seen a large appreciation in prices and sales activity, mimicking the real estate boom its southern cousin Miami-Dade County has enjoyed for the past few years.