Estate Cos. has triggered construction of a 529-unit apartment complex in Lauderhill thanks to $93.2 million in financing from Synovus Bank.
Known as Soleste Westgate, the seven-building complex will rise six stories on the site of a former Target store at 5451-5575 North University Drive and 7730 West Commercial Boulevard. The South Miami-based developer, led by Robert Suris and Jeffrey Ardizon, paid $23.5 million for the site last year, records show.
Synovus assumed a $12.8 million mortgage Estate had obtained for the purchase and increased the loan amount by $80.3 million, records show. The developer also submitted a notice of commencement with Broward County.
Estate is bullish on the area. In June, the company won final approval to develop the 213-unit Soleste Pompano Beach and also scored an $80 million construction loan for a 324-unit apartment building in downtown Hollywood.
The Target store was among 13 stores across the country closed by the retailer in 2018 due to lackluster sales. The same year, an investment group involving Suris, Doron Valero of Global Fund Investments and Gabriel Navarro of MMG Equity Partners acquired the property for $9 million.
In 2020, the Lauderhill City Commission approved a land-use amendment and rezoning to allow for Soleste Westgate, according to published reports. Estate bought the property from the investment group in September of last year.
Last year, when South Florida’s multifamily market was setting records for occupancy rates and asking rents, Estate sold four apartment complexes in Miami-Dade, including the 213-unit Soleste Bay Village in Palmetto Bay for $58.2 million; the 330-unit Soleste Blue Lagoon in Miami for $93.8 million; and in West Miami, the 306-unit Soleste Alameda for $82.9 million and the 338-unit Soleste Twenty2 for $97 million, bringing in $332 million altogether.