Waterton Buys Fort Lauderdale Apartments for $94M

Fort Lauderdale, Fla.—Waterton, a Chicago-based real estate investor and operator, has acquired Port Royale, a 553-unit garden-style apartment community in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., for $94 million from Dallas-based Mill Creek Residential. The property is along the Intracoastal Waterway.

Port Royale includes a mix of one- and two-bedroom apartments and various amenities, including a two-level fitness center with yoga studio, a pair of outdoor swimming pools, walking paths and an on-site marina with boat slips. Built in three phases between 1988 and 1990, the site also includes a 230-unit condominium tower and a 555-unit apartment development—formerly part of Phase I—that weren’t included in Waterton’s acquisition. Mill Creek retains the other apartment community.

Maxwell Peek, senior vice president of acquisitions at Waterton, told MHN that “the market for well-located, institutional-quality multifamily is very competitive in South Florida.” That’s because investors, including Waterton, have a high level of conviction about the long-term fundamentals for apartments in South Florida, he added.

“Renter demand is very strong and has outpaced construction deliveries in this cycle, which has led to historically high occupancies and prolonged rent growth,” Peeks added. “Forward projections point to continued positive supply and demand trends, which should translate into strong performance going forward.”

Port Royale marks Waterton’s eighth acquisition in 2015 and expands the firm’s current Florida portfolio to seven properties comprising more than 3,100 units. Waterton also owns apartment communities in southeast Florida, southwest Florida and central Florida.