AvalonBay Communities acquired a multifamily development site in Lake Worth Beach that is next to a built-in retail component anchored by a Publix store.
Arlington, Virginia-based AvalonBay is planning Northlake Promenade Apartments on a 9-acre site the firm acquired for $16.5 million, records and real estate database Vizzda show. The vacant property is adjacent to the Publix-anchored shopping plaza at 374 Northlake Boulevard. The 10,546-square-foot Northlake Promenade Shoppes will remain and is not part of the sale, Vizzda states.
The seller, an affiliate of Boca Raton-based Woolbright Development, paid $9.2 million for the vacant land and the retail plaza in 2016, records show.
The city of Lake Worth Beach recently approved a site plan for the AvalonBay project. It will consist of a seven-story building with 279 apartments and 448 parking spaces designed by Orlando-based Baker Barrios Architects.
Led by CEO Benjamin Schall, AvalonBay is a publicly traded real estate investment trust, or REIT, that owns 299 apartment communities with 90,673 units in 12 states and Washington D.C., the company’s website states.
The firm has been active in California and Colorado recently. Last month, AvalonBay paid $95 million for a 306-unit apartment complex in Denver, and broke ground on a five-building complex with 305 units near San Francisco.
Between 2021 and 2022, AvalonBay was among the institutional investors that descended on South Florida, paying top dollar for multifamily projects. In 2022, the firm paid $295 million for two complexes in Miramar with a combined 650 apartments. The previous year, AvalonBay dropped $133 million for another Miramar apartment complex.
Other developers dipping into Lake Worth Beach include Atlanta-based PulteGroup. In April, the firm acquired 36.5 acres in the city for $22 million. The developer’s Divosta Homes division is planning Antica, a residential community of 108 single-family homes.
Last year, PulteGroup also purchased 27 acres near Lake Worth Beach for $21.1 million where the homebuilder is planning Everton, a project comprising 210 townhomes.