Brookfield to partner with Airbnb in $200M Florida deal

Brookfield Property Partners plans to invest up to $200 million in a series of Florida multifamily properties whose units will be rented out through Airbnb for part of the year, the company announced Monday.

The Canadian investment giant formed a joint venture with Niido, the developer behind the projects. It will invest $20 million in the first project, a 324-unit property in Kissimmee, Bloomberg reported.

The partners plan to buy existing buildings and under-construction projects in Miami, Fort Lauderdale and Tampa and turn them into a giant home-sharing experiment: tenants will be allowed to sublet their pads via Airbnb for less than half the year. In return, the landlords get a share of the income (Brookfield’s cut will be 25 percent).

Newgard Development Group, the Miami-based firm behind Niido, and Airbnb first announced the Kissimmee project in October. New York-based Silverpeak Real Estate Partners is also investing $20 million in the property.

Niido hopes that the ability to legally make extra money through Airbnb will make the buildings more appealing to potential tenants. “It certainly gives you a competitive advantage because it’s different,” Niido co-founder Cindy Diffenderfer told Bloomberg. “You’ve got a ton of inventory coming to the marketplace, especially in Florida.” [Bloomberg] — Konrad Putzier