Developer pays $22M for portion of Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale campus

Broadstone Harbor Beach rendering and Steve Hyatt of Berger Commercial Realty
Broadstone Harbor Beach rendering and Steve Hyatt of Berger Commercial Realty

The Art Institute’s Fort Lauderdale campus sold, and part of it will be developed into a 394-unit apartment complex, The Real Deal has learned.

Art Institute Investment, sold 4.26 acres of the 6.25-acre site to Harbor Beach Investors on Tuesday. Harbor Beach, an affiliate of Alliance Residential and Invesco Real Estate, obtained a $66.5 million loan from Wells Fargo, Broward County records show.

Berger Commercial Realty senior vice president Steve Hyatt represented Alliance Residential in the sale, according to a press release. Alliance plans to develop the 4.26 acres of land at 1701 Southeast 17th Street into an eight-story apartment complex named Broadstone Harbor Beach. Proposed amenities include a club room, pool, putting green, gym and retail.

The site used to house Ocean World, a controversial marine park that closed in 1994 after nearly 30 years of operating.

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“This deal was two-and-half years in the making,” Hyatt said in a press release. “Ocean World was an old Fort Lauderdale attraction and this land has a storied history. I can still remember going to the aquarium’s dolphin show on a school field trip.”

The Art Institute is not affiliated with the seller, Art Institute Investment, and it leases the land at 1799 Southeast 17th Street. The entire property last sold for $25 million in July 2009, according to Broward County property records.

Alliance Residential is a private multifamily developer operating in 19 states and 29 cities, according to its website. The company has a regional office in Boca Raton and investments in Miami and West Palm Beach.

A groundbreaking is scheduled for the second quarter of this year.