New York firm pays $58M for Wellington apartments

Affiliates of Phillips International, a New York real estate company, just paid $58 million to AEW Capital Management for the Solara at Wellington Apartments.

Solara is a mid-rise apartment community with 320 units at 12535 South Shore Boulevard, directly north of the Palm Beach Polo & Country Club.

It was first built in 1991 and has traded hands between firms several times since then, most recently in 2007 when California’s IMT Residential gave ownership of the apartments to Boston-based AEW Capital Management for an unknown price, according to Palm Beach County property records.

AEW manages investments primarily on behalf of institutional and private investors. According to its website, the firm has about $34 billion worth of assets in North America. The company recently sold a trophy office tower in Coral Gables for $83 million on behalf of its clients, and purchased another two in West Palm Beach for $246 million — which was the county’s third-largest commercial sale that year.

After eight years of ownership, records show AEW has now offloaded Solara to Phillips International for $181,250 per unit.

Phillips is a real estate company headquartered in New York. The firm acquires, develops and manages commercial properties within the U.S., and has a portfolio size of roughly 200 properties.

No financing has been recorded with the deal, according to county records.

Solara’s units come in one-, two- and three-bedroom configurations with rents starting at $1,274 per month. Amenities include a community pool, cyber cafe, fitness center, tennis court, clubhouse, children’s playground and newly built barbecue area.

Last year investors took a big interest in South Florida’s apartment rental market. More than $1.2 billion was spent on the acquisition of apartment complexes throughout the tri-county area during 2015, with demand being driven by the belief that rental rates will continue seeing steady growth.