Jungle Island owner sells Jupiter office building to New York self storage firm for $12M

ESJ Capital Partners sold an office building in Jupiter to a New York self storage company for $12.3 million.

Aventura-based ESJ, led by President and CEO Arnaud Sitbon, sold the four-story, 38,769-square-foot RiverWalk Center building at 150 South U.S. 1 to RJM Jupiter Riverwalk, tied to Prime Group Holdings of Saratoga Springs, New York, according to property records. It’s next to the Jupiter Yacht Club.

GenSpring, a family office managed by SunTrust Private Wealth Management, occupied the entire building.

ESJ paid $12 million for the building in 2015, property records show.

Prime Group Holdings owns and operates self storage facilities along the east coast, according to its website. The company expanded its New York portfolio in 2018 when it purchased two industrial buildings in Queens, New York for $26.5 million from Cayre Equities.

ESJ also owns and operates Jungle Island theme park in Miami. In February, the firm obtained zoning approval to allow for a hotel to be built on the site.

The Jupiter deal is among the latest in several commercial sales this year.

Boston-based commercial real estate firm JB Capital Management led a $25.5 million joint venture purchase of Fresh Market Village in Jupiter earlier this month.

In June, Value Store It Management paid $35.3 million for two self-storage facilities at 1400 West Indiantown Road in Jupiter for $17.3 million and 2909 South Military Avenue in unincorporated Palm Beach County near Greenacres for $18.1 million.

The office market has benefitted from an increase in new-to-market firms expanding and relocating to South Florida, resulting in positive absorption rates for the region. Landlords have raised rents despite vacancy rates hovering around 10 percent across the region, according to third quarter reports.