Today's Deals: Archstone Partnership Acquires $42M Asset in Florida

Boca Raton, Fla.—An Archstone-sponsored partnership has acquired Vinings at Town Center, a 252-unit community in Palm Beach County, from AEW Capital Management for $42 million. The asset, which will be renamed Archstone Boca Town Center, is adjacent to the Town Center at Boca Raton, a 1.72 million-square-foot mall with over 220 retailers.

“Archstone Boca Town Center is located in a highly desirable upscale neighborhood with expensive single family homes and limited land available for new residential development,” says Charles Mueller Jr., chief operating officer at Archstone. “Our operating team in Southeast Florida is looking forward to producing very strong results at this fantastic community.”

While Archstone plans to renovate the amenities and units over the course of the next year, the property in its current state has a 24-hour fitness center, clubhouse, tennis court, resort-style pool and a picnic area with barbecue grills.

HFF arranges $37M for an Orlando development

Orlando, Fla.—HFF (Holliday Fenoglio Fowler LP) has arranged $37 million in financing for Steel House Apartments, a 326-unit community being developed by Pollack Shores Real Estate Group. The fund includes a $25 million construction loan through a national commercial bank and $9 million in joint venture equity with an institutional private equity firm.

Mark Sixour, senior managing director at HFF, led the team representing Pollack Shores. The property should be completed in February 2013. Slated community amenities include a sports club, business center, media room, pool, grilling area, fourth floor clubroom and lounge, and controlled access parking.

ARA executes sale of site in Houston’s sought-after Galleria submarket

Houston—ARA announced the sale of a 3.17-acre site in the desirable Galleria submarket of Houston.

ARA Houston’s land brokerage specialists, David Marshall and Tim Dosch, represented the Hunnicut Family, a private, local area developer, in the sale. The site was acquired by Newport Beach, Calif.-based The Greystone Group for an undisclosed price.

Located at on S. Post Oak Lane, the 3.17-acre site is one of the few remaining infill development sites in the much sought-after Galleria submarket. The site currently houses a circa 1960s 78-unit multifamily development, which was originally developed by the Hunnicut Family, and it will be demolished to make way for a new 270-unit multi-housing community.

Investor interest in the site was heightened largely due to both timing of the sale and the site’s location. “The marketing effort for the site was initiated in June when the sales cycle was really hitting full-speed and a number of developers and equity and debt sources were competing for deals in the Houston market,” says ARA’s David Marshall. ARA’s Tim Dosch adds, “We received 20 offers on the site in just a 30-day period.”