New York firm buys Coral Springs apartment complex for $68M

Sherwood Forest. Inset: Ben Lemieux, president of LSR Communities
Sherwood Forest. Inset: Ben Lemieux, president of LSR Communities

LSR Communities sold the Sherwood Forest at Coral Springs apartment complex to Abacus Capital Group for $68.2 million, property records show. 

Houston, Texas-based LSR sold the 400-unit property at 1599 Northwest 91st Avenue for $170,500 per apartment to the New York multifamily investment firm. Abacus, led by president and CEO Benjamin Friedman, financed the deal with a $53.9 million mortgage from Freddie Mac.

The 20.2-acre complex was completed in 1989. LSR acquired the community in 2012 for $49.2 million, or $123,000 per unit. That means it just sold for nearly 39 percent more over a five-year period. The company, which owns and manages 2,500 apartments in Texas and Florida, renovated Sherwood Forest to include a new two-story club house with a media room and event space, new flooring and renovated kitchens, new fixtures and washers and dryers in all the units, according to a cached version of LSR’s website.

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Ben Lemieux, president of LSR, signed the deed transfer of ownership. Lemieux also co-owns Surge Homes, a Houston-based home builder. About a year ago, LSR sold a 360-unit apartment complex in Boca Raton for nearly $214,000 per rental, or a total of $77 million.

Abacus Capital Group is also not new to the Florida market. The company owns about 25 apartment communities in the U.S., including the Landings at Coconut Creek and Westley Shore in Tampa.

Multifamily investment sales have slowed down since 2015, when deals totaled a record $2.8 billion in South Florida.