Bronfman scion buys Homestead affordable housing complex

Treevita Group sold the 112-unit apartment complex

From left: Elliot Shainberg and Deme Mekras with the Riverwalk Apartments II
From left: Elliot Shainberg and Deme Mekras with the Riverwalk Apartments II

A company tied to a member of the wealthy Bronfman family bought a 112-unit affordable apartment complex in Homestead for $12 million, signaling investors’ growing interest in south Miami-Dade County.

Jeremy Bronfman, a scion of the family that founded the spirits company Seagrams, bought the apartments at 301 Southeast Sixth Avenue for $107,142 per unit, records show. Miami-based Treevita Group, led by Hugo Cascavita, sold the property.

Deme Mekras and Elliot Shainberg of MSP Group brokered the deal. They declined to comment on the buyer’s identity.

Riverwalk II Apartments total 89,218 square feet and were built in 1994, records show. They are subsidized under the Low Income Housing Tax Credit program. The property includes a clubhouse and seven, two-story residential buildings.

Treevita Group bought the apartments in 2013 for $6.2 million. The privately held real estate group that is focused on multifamily was able to grow net operating income at the complex by about 60 percent, according to a press release.

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Bronfman is tied to a company called Lincoln Avenue Capital which owns, develops, and invests in low-income housing complexes throughout the country. It also owns the 332-unit Cabana Club Apartments in Cutler Bay.

Homebuilders are increasingly buying land and planning new home communities in south Miami-Dade, as they face a dwindling supply of undeveloped land and rising land prices. The increasing cost of single-family homes near the urban core is also pushing potential homebuyers farther south to cities like Homestead or Leisure City.

In December, Pinnacle Housing Group secured a $31.2 million loan to build a 110-unit transit-oriented affordable housing development in Leisure City’s Modello neighborhood.

Last year, Lennar Corp. paid $9.5 million for about 32 acres at 11406 Southwest 248th Street. In 2017, Lennar also spent $10.75 million for about 77 acres in Homestead, just west of the Turnpike along Mowry Drive and Southwest 152nd Avenue.