Blackstone nabs $70M loan for Palm Beach Gardens rentals

About a month after buying the San Merano at Mirasol apartments in Palm Beach Gardens, the Blackstone Group has closed on a $69.78 million mortgage for the complex, property records show. 

New York-based Blackstone paid $103.6 million, or about $218,000 per apartment, for the 476-unit development at 100 Portofino Circle in April. Boston-based TA Associates Realty was the seller.

Records show a JLL multifamily entity provided the financing. The 30-acre property was completed in 2002 by Kolter Communities. The developer later marketed the high-end apartment complex as a condo conversion, but that failed to gain traction and Kolter sold San Merano at Mirasol to TA Associates.

Apartments range from 824-square-foot one-bedrooms to 1,543-square-foot one-bedrooms, according to the property’s website. Monthly rents range from $1,365 to $2,160. Amenities include a gym, business center, swimming pool, sand volleyball court, lounge, jogging trails and a piazza fronting a 2.6-acre lake. Units feature granite countertops, upgraded kitchens, washers and dryers, and hardwood-style floors.

Blackstone has about $32.2 billion in cash reserves to invest in global real estate, IPE Real Estate reported last month. And the private equity giant’s total real estate assets under management are worth about $101.2 billion, according to its most recent earnings report.

A Blackstone executive recently warned investors at a forum in Singapore that property returns will likely be lower over the next five years due to low interest rates and volatile stock and bond markets.