Capital Square buys Parkland apartments for $155M

Bell Partners sold an apartment complex in Parkland for $155 million, marking the third time this month that the firm has cashed out of a Broward County multifamily property.

Capital Square, a firm focused on tax-beneficial investments such as 1031 exchanges, bought the garden-style Bell Parkland community at 5851 Holmberg Road, according to records and real estate database Vizzda. The buyer took out a $73.4 million loan on the property.

The deal for the 396-unit complex breaks down to roughly $391,400 per apartment. The community is 96 percent leased, said Capital Square co-CEO Whitson Huffman.

Bell Parkland consists of 43 two-story buildings with one- to three-bedroom apartments, according to Vizzda. Built in 2000 on 45 acres, the complex has two pools, as well as tennis and basketball courts.

Bell Partners paid $92.8 million for the complex in 2018, records show.

The Greensboro, N.C.-based firm is fresh off selling a pair of adjacent apartment complexes in Miramar for a combined $138 million. The Connor Group bought the 131-unit Bell Apartments at 11900 Southwest 31st Court, and the 240-unit Horizon at Miramar Apartments at 3040 Southwest 119th Avenue from Bell Partners.

Led by Jon Bell and Lili Dunn, Bell Partners has completed more than $22 billion in deals on behalf of investors since 2002, according to its website. The three deals are not part of a larger nationwide portfolio sale by Bell Partners, according to sources familiar with the matter.

The firm still owns other South Florida apartment complexes. They include Bell Sunrise in Fort Lauderdale at 1015, 1111 and 1201 East Sunrise Boulevard, which Bell bought for $99.5 million last year, according to records.

Glen Allen, Virg.-based Capital Square has a portfolio of more than 150 properties valued at over $5 billion, according to its website. Louis Rogers is co-CEO.

Some of its tax-beneficial investments focus on Opportunity Zone funds, its website says.

The Bell Parkland property is part of Capital Square’s Delaware Statutory Trust program, which allows investors in the program to execute 1031 exchanges by investing in this property, according to Huffman.

South Florida’s multifamily market is coming off a frenzied two years, with the region leading the nation in record rent growth caused by skyrocketing demand.

Rates still are increasing but at a much slower pace. The growth rate was 8.4 percent in October, year-over-year, much less than the 52.4 percent hike in January, year-over-year, according to Realtor.com.

Parkland, a suburban community in west Broward, hasn’t experienced much of the multifamily investment sales activity.

Elsewhere in the county, Mesirow Financial paid $132 million for the Broadstone Cypress Hammocks complex at 5201-5381 West Hillsboro Boulevard in Coconut Creek in October.

Stephen Ross’ New York-based Related Companies also has wagered on Broward multifamily real estate, paying $55.5 million for the Monterra affordable apartment complex at 2601 Solano Avenue in Cooper City in November.