JSB Capital Group scooped up a 197-unit apartment complex in Dania Beach for $69 million, marking a continued year-end rush on multifamily deals in South Florida.
The Miami Beach-based firm bought the Stellar at Emerald Hills at 5800-5840 Lakeshore Drive from Stellar Communities, according to records and real estate database Vizzda. JSB Capital assumed the seller’s $50 million mortgage from lender Delaware Life Insurance Company.
Roberto Pesant and Jaret Turkell were part of the Berkadia South Florida team that represented Stellar in the sale.
The deal breaks down to $350,254 per unit.
The property consists of three three-story buildings and three one-story garages on a 7.1-acre site, Vizzda records show. Aventura-based Stellar completed the complex in 2022, after paying $3.8 million for the development site in 2015. The firm is led by managing partner Larry Baum.
Stellar at Emerald Hills offers one- to three-bedroom apartments, with monthly rents ranging from $2,234 to $3,830, according to its website.
The complex offers two months of free rent for select units and certain lease terms. These types of concessions have become common this year due to slower demand, a flatlining of rents and rent declines in some submarkets.
JSB Capital, led by founder and CEO J. Jay Lobell, invests across asset classes, according to its website and Lobell’s LinkedIn.
It’s been a frequent player in South Florida. Last year, JSB scooped up the 36-unit Cannonsport condo complex at 176 Lake Drive in Singer Island’s Palm Beach Shores and adjacent 54-slip marina for $58.5 million. In 2022, the firm paid $255 million for the 631-unit Landmark South apartment complex at 6075 Northwest 105th Court in Doral.
South Florida multifamily investment sales are picking up as the year draws to an end. Elevated interest rates and other headwinds had led to a decline in deals this year and last year, compared with the buying spree of 2021 and 2022.
This month, Arch Companies sold the 60-unit Melrose Apartments at 3200 North Haverhill Road near West Palm Beach to F/Advance Capital for $17.5 million.
Some firms still have purchasing power by using discretionary funds. Many also are assuming sellers’ existing loans or taking out federal agency loans, which come at more favorable terms than bank financing.
Last month, Greensboro, North Carolina-based Bell Partners used one of its multifamily value-add funds to pay $121.3 million for the 349-unit Bell Miramar Place complex at 11338 Southwest 45th Place in Miramar, as well as $78.5 million for the 228-unit Bell Kendall West complex at 8485 Hammocks Boulevard in unincorporated Miami-Dade County. It borrowed a $73.6 million Fannie Mae loan for the Miramar deal and assumed the seller’s $26.6 million outstanding balance on the Miami-Dade property.