Grant Cardone pays $69M for Boca Raton multifamily project

235-unit property traded two months ago for $47M

Grant Cardone with the Boca Raton apartments. (Facebook via Cardone, Realtor)
Grant Cardone with the Boca Raton apartments. (Facebook via Cardone, Realtor)

Real estate tycoon and motivational speaker Grant Cardone bought the Camino Real Apartments in Boca Raton for $69 million, The Real Deal has learned.

Cardone bought the 235-unit community at 33 East Camino Real from Morgan Properties in an off-market deal, he said. The price breaks down to $293,617 per unit.

The purchase comes less than three months after Morgan Properties scooped up the complex for $46.8 million, as part of a $1.8 billion national apartment portfolio shopping spree that totaled 14,414 units.

Cardone’s all-cash purchase equates to a nearly 50 percent increase in price since mid-March.

The nine-story community with a pool was built in 2002 on 2 acres, records show.

Cardone plans $10 million in capital improvements to the apartments and common areas. Monthly rents are now $1,000 below market and the property is 91 percent leased, he said.

That makes it an “underperforming” asset because it should be fully leased, considering the lower rents and location that’s walking distance from a Trader Joe’s, Cardone added. It also makes it a good deal for Cardone, as it allows him to boost rents following the improvements.

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“This might be the best value-add deal I bought in five years, in the hottest apartment market I have ever experienced,” he said.

The deal came about because Cardone reached out to Jonathan Morgan of Morgan Properties to inquire if the group wanted to sell assets from its newly acquired portfolio, Cardone said.

Cardone’s Aventura-based Cardone Capital real estate investment firm has $2.1 billion of assets under management, with nearly 9,000 units, according to its website.

The firm bought a 553-unit waterfront apartment complex in Fort Lauderdale in September, using funds from its $50 million crowdfunding campaign. The purchase price was not disclosed.

Cardone also is an author and is known for his sales training, public speaking events on leadership and his 10X Growth Conference. His books include “The 10X Rule: The Only Difference Between Success and Failure.”

Just prior to closing on the Camino Real Apartments, he bought a Golden Beach estate for about $28 million from Tommy Hilfiger, who recently spoke at Cardone’s 10X conference.