The Milestone Group paid $107 million for the 505-unit Emerald Palms apartment complex near Zoo Miami in southwest Miami-Dade County.
The multifamily investment firm bought the community at 12325 Southwest 151st Street from an affiliate of Denver-based Grand Peaks Properties, records show. Milestone Group took out a $70.2 million mortgage, which in part assumes an existing loan and also is additional financing.
The deal breaks down to $211,882 per unit.
Emerald Palms offers one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments and townhouses. The complex, which has two swimming pools, is on 24 acres in unincorporated Miami-Dade County, property records show. It is roughly west of Florida’s Turnpike and north of the zoo.
The Milestone Group, led by managing partners Jeffrey Goldberg and Robert Landin, is a national multifamily investor with $8.2 billion in real estate investments and a portfolio spanning more than 80,000 units, according to its website. It has offices in Dallas, Boca Raton and Atlanta.
Grand Peaks Properties, through an affiliate, bought Emerald Palms in 2012 for $70.5 million, records show.
The group, founded by CEO Luke Simpson and President Nick Simpson, is the multifamily acquisition, renovation and development arm of Grand Peaks, according to its website. The Simpson family in 2003 founded Grand Peaks, which includes apartment management division Grand Peaks Property Management.
This is at least the third South Florida community Grand Peaks Properties sold this year. It sold a Margate apartment complex for $50.75 million in March, and a recently renovated West Palm Beach complex for $41.4 million in August.
Grand Peaks Properties also bought a 264-unit apartment complex in southwest Miami-Dade for $63 million in March.
It is no surprise the firm has been a heavy multifamily player this year, as the South Florida market is enjoying hefty demand that is pushing up rental rates to unprecedented levels. Although Berkadia reported a 7.9 percent increase from June 2020 to June 2021, the hikes reach as high as 24 percent in some submarkets.