LA investor pays $30M for aging 90-unit Fort Lauderdale rental portfolio

Cochise Capital’s deal breaks down to $330K per apartment

A photo illustration of 1401 Southeast 15th Street (bottom) and 1300 Northeast Third Street (top) in Fort Lauderdale (Google Maps, Getty Images)
A photo illustration of 1401 Southeast 15th Street (bottom) and 1300 Northeast Third Street (top) in Fort Lauderdale (Google Maps, Getty Images)

A Los Angeles-based investment firm scooped up a 90-unit portfolio of older apartment buildings in Fort Lauderdale for just under $30 million.

George Coloney of The Keyes Company (The Keyes Company)

George Coloney of The Keyes Company (The Keyes Company)

Cochise Capital bought the Cordova Arms building at 1401 Southeast 15th Street for $19.5 million and The Isle at 1300 Northeast Third Street for $10.1 million, according to brokers George Coloney and Maggie Graham of The Keyes Company’s Coloney Group, which represented both sides of the deal.

At $29.6 million, the combined sale price for the two properties breaks down to $330,000 per unit.

The sellers were limited liability companies managed by Ralph Doering III and other members of the Doering family, who list an Oakland Park office, records show. The entities had owned both properties for more than two decades, having paid $1.7 million for Cordova Arms in 2001 and $1.2 million for The Isle in 1998, deeds show.

The three-story, 58-unit Cordova Arms spans 46,000 square feet and was built in 1964 across an acre, according to records. The two-story, 32-unit The Isle is 21,000 square feet and was constructed in 1967 on just over half an acre.

One-bedroom apartments rent for $2,199 a month at Cordova and $2,300 a month at The Isle, according to Zillow.

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Led by Mike Talla and Rex Licklider, Cochise invests in multifamily, office and retail assets, but small apartment buildings in California and Florida make up the bulk of its portfolio, according to its website. The firm says it has $800 million of capital under management and owns 750 apartments across six states.

Cochise’s other South Florida holdings include three apartment properties in Pompano Beach, at 116 South Riverside Drive, 601 North Ocean Boulevard and 313 Hibiscus Avenue, its website shows.

Executives affiliated with Cochise have also invested in Miami’s multifamily market. Four entities managed by Richard Gerber, Brett Talla and David Talla paid $15 million for the recently completed eight-story, 34-unit East River Living building at 39 Northwest Seventh Avenue in Little Havana.

The Isle and Cordova buildings are near downtown Fort Lauderdale, a quickly redeveloping area with several large residential projects in the pipeline. The activity has prompted sales of new buildings, but deals for smaller and older properties like The Isle and Cordova have been fewer in number.

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Global Horizons Group sold a 71-unit portfolio of seven small Fort Lauderdale apartment buildings built between 1954 and 1974 for $13 million in January.

In March, investor Jay Shidler, made a much bigger play when his Shidler Group paid $108.3 million for the newly built 276-unit Riverland Apartments at 420-432 Southwest 27th Avenue.