J. Milton scoops up apartment complex in Sunrise for $29M

The Milton family, real estate developers and investors, scooped up an apartment complex in Sunrise for $28.9 million. 

Coral Gables-based J. Milton & Associates bought the Shamrock of Sunrise at 4001 North Pine Island Road from Lloyd Jones, according to records and real estate database Vizzda.  The deal breaks down to $243,200 per unit. 

Completed in 2005, the complex consists of four four-story buildings with 119 units on 7.2 acres. 

Shamrock at Sunrise has one- to four-bedroom apartments, with monthly rents from $1,904 to $3,699, Apartments.com shows. 

Dallas-based Lloyd Jones had paid $20 million for the complex in 2018, according to records. Led by Chris Finlay, the firm is a developer and investor with $750 million in assets under management, mainly in multifamily, senior housing and hotels, its website shows. 

Last year, Lloyd Jones paid $92 million for The Vibe Miami Apartments, a 194-unit building at 700 Southwest First Street in Miami’s Little Havana neighborhood. 

J. Milton is led by brothers Joseph, Cecil and Frank Milton. Their late father, José Milton, a Cuban immigrant of Lebanese heritage, founded the firm shortly after moving to Miami in 1962, according to the philanthropic Jose Milton Foundation. 

J. Milton has developed more than 50,000 residential units and has a net worth of over $2 billion, according to its website. The firm’s projects include the Parque Towers at 300-330 Sunny Isles Boulevard in Sunny Isles Beach. 

The Sunrise purchase comes amid a pickup of multifamily investment sales in South Florida, following a dropoff due to higher interest rates. Firms still buying properties tend to rely on their discretionary funds and avoid expensive financing. 

Records show J. Milton didn’t take out a mortgage for the Shamrock at Sunrise. 

This month, San Francisco-based Stockbridge dropped $156 million for the Park 82nd Apartments at 8255 Park Boulevard in Miami-Dade County’s Fontainebleau neighborhood.