$112M sale shows allure of apartments

PALM BEACH GARDENS — In another big apartment deal in Palm Beach County, the Marbella Premium Apartments west of Boca Raton just sold for $112 million.

That works out to $377,104 per unit. Rents at the complex range from $1,930 to $4,370, according to Apartments.com.

The seller was Marbella Premium Apartments LLC of Houston. The buyer is Hart Boca LLC, an affiliate of Heitman Capital Management of Chicago. The Marbella units were built in 1981, according to property records.

The deal is just the latest indication of intense investor interest in apartments in the aftermath of the Great Recession.

While Palm Beach County property developers have been cautious about breaking ground on offices, retail space, condos and houses, they’ve been far more eager to build rental residences.

Hundreds of new apartments are under construction in downtown West Palm Beach, including 290 units at the Park-Line project next to the Brightline train station, 210 units at The Alexander and 315 apartments at Broadstone City Center. And just north of downtown, the 100-unit 312 Northwood is open to tenants.

In Boca Raton, under-construction projects include the 378-unit Palmetto Promenade and the 366unit Via Mizner. They’re vying with other recent projects, including the 229-unit Boca City Walk.

At Boca’s fanciest new project — the Mark at Cityscape, which sold in 2015 for nearly $400,000 a unit — some apartments rent for more than $4,000 a month.