The real estate investment of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints paid $240 million to acquire an apartment complex in Boca Raton, marking one of the priciest multifamily deals in South Florida this year.
Records show an affiliate of the LDS Church’s Property Reserve bought the Uptown Boca Villas complex at 20927 95th Avenue South from Atlanta-based Cortland, amid an overall softening of the multifamily market across the tri-county region.
Cortland paid $230 million for the property in 2021.
Giles Capital Group, Rosemurgy Properties, Schmier Property Group and Wheelock Street Capital completed the 456-unit, seven-building complex in 2020. They paid $38 million for the 38-acre site in 2018, and financed construction with a $125 million loan from Jutland Finance in 2019. The partnership retained ownership of the 179,000 square feet of retail in the complex when they sold to Cortland.
Uptown Boca Villas’ units range from 718 square feet to more than 1,700 square feet, between one and four bedrooms each. Community amenities include a pool, gym, business center, theater, lounge and playground.
The deal adds to the LDS Church’s already sizable investments in Boca Raton’s multifamily market. Last year a church affiliate paid $152.5 million for the 384-unit Del Ola apartment complex.
Its other South Florida holdings include the 315-unit Plantation apartment building it acquired in 2024 for $133 million, and a 284-unit Wellington apartment complex it purchased last year for $102.4 million.
The Mormon church has faced criticism over its multi-billion dollar real estate portfolio. Mormon tithing laws require that LDS members donate 10 percent of their income to the church, according to the LDS Church website. Public disclosure requirements for religious institutions are limited in comparison to those of corporations.
In 2023, the LDS Church and Ensign Peak Advisors, its investment manager, settled with the Securities and Exchange Commission over claims that the church used numerous LLCs to obscure its real estate portfolio, according to published reports. The church and Ensign paid a combined $5 million, and neither admitted nor denied wrongdoing.