Jamestown Continues High-End Conversion of Beach Place in Sunny South Florida

By Barbra Murray, Contributing Writer

Sunny Isles Beach, Fla.—Change is afoot in Sunny Isles Beach, Fla., and Jamestown continues the reinvention of Beach Place to accommodate a growing demand for premier apartments. The real estate investment and management firm is on the verge of wrapping up the first phase of the 308-unit coastal property’s repositioning, and it is chomping at the bit to commence the final stage of what will ultimately be a $10.5 million overhaul.

It was all part of the plan from the moment Jamestown acquired Beach Place, formerly known as Vista View Apartments, in 2009. “At the time of purchase, Beach Place was an older and lower quality, lower cost residential offering compared to much of the other product in the area, affording the opportunity to bring the asset in line with the market through modernization of its facilities and updating of public spaces and unit interiors,” an asset manager with Jamestown tells MHN.

Keenly aware of Sunny Isles Beach’s continuing metamorphosis from a desirable Florida retirement destination to a magnet for youthful trendsetting couples and families, Jamestown has been busy transforming Beach Place in an effort to capitalize on the new energy that that comes part and parcel with the area’s evolution. “The property benefits from various geographic attributes that appeal to the high-end market, the most important of which are its proximity to the beach and the Intracoastal Waterway and its access to highly-rated schools,” he says. “In addition, the neighborhood is already home to a high-income resident base and benefits from upscale grocery, shopping and dining establishments.”

Well-appointed community rooms for bridge games and the like are simply not enough to appease the changing rental population’s growing call for upper scale accommodations.

In addition to giving the landscaping an extravagant overhaul, Jamestown has added a community-accessible dog park to Beach Place, as well as open-air designer courtyards and a private walkway leading to the beach, which sits within one block’s reach.

Jamestown has already seen the fruits of its labor. The four-building apartment complex is 98.5 percent occupied and rental rates have skyrocketed an impressive 8 percent within the last eight months. “Beach Place is highly unique as one of the only true garden-style apartment offerings along the South Florida coast, driving recent demand from other nearby high-rise rental options,” the asset manager notes.

The apartment market in South Florida, as is the case in most metropolitan locales across the country, is on a big upswing. Lingering challenges in the for-sale housing market play a big role in shaping the current climate in the multifamily sector. “Falling home values, high unemployment and tighter lending standards have made it very difficult for would-be home buyers to obtain mortgages,” he says.

The apartment market in the area continues to thrive despite the significant presence of condominium units that are currently operating as rentals. “Renters frequently prefer the full-service environment of true apartment communities to the limited service offered by the shadow condominium rental market.”

Jamestown’s expects Beach Place to outshine condominium options to an even greater degree. Work will get underway on the second phase of the conversion program with interior renovations later this fall.