Cortland Sells West Palm Apartments For $208M: The South Florida Deal Sheet

Cortland Partners sold a massive 23-year-old apartment complex in West Palm Beach for more than $200M — one of the heftiest multifamily sales in South Florida this year, even though the Atlanta-based multifamily giant accepted a discount.

California-based Fairfield Residential paid $208M for the 812-unit Portofino Place East and West apartment complexes in West Palm Beach, according to property records provided by Vizzda.

Walker & Dunlop originated two Freddie Mac loans totaling $178M for the deal.

The 34 residential buildings and two clubhouses total 1.1M SF at 4400 Portofino Way. The residences, which range from one-to-three-bedroom units, are priced between $1,749 and $3,135, according to Apartments.com.

The complex includes four pools, a gym, a yoga studio, pickleball and tennis courts, an indoor basketball court, coworking space, a dog park, guest suite accommodations and multiple social and recreation areas, according to a release.

Cortland paid $229M for the property in 2021, Commercial Observer reported. The sale is the second-largest multifamily deal of the year so far, following Cortland’s $240M sale of a Boca Raton property to the real estate arm of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

The sale is a sign of life in the region’s sluggish multifamily market amid slow rent growth and a deep construction pipeline. Trades were down roughly 20% in the first quarter, according to Avison Young.

FINANCING

Gatsby Florida landed a $118.6M construction loan from Cirrus Real Estate Partners for an office and retail development in Palm Beach Gardens, according to a release.

The eight-story project rising at 11200 RCA Center Drive is called The Palm. Gatsby plans 200K SF of offices, 30K SF of retail and restaurant space, and an 838-space garage, with completion projected for 2028.

The project will feature a rooftop terrace, a gym and conference facilities.

Berkadia’s Charles Foschini, Scott Wadler and Shannon Wilson secured the financing on behalf of Gatsby, which is led by Babak Ebrahimzadeh and Isaac Ohebshalom.

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Terra Group landed a $245M loan from Slate Property Group to refinance the first phase of the $1B, 47-acre transit-oriented Upland Park, according to a release.

The loan follows the completion of 578 apartments earlier this summer, which are more than 60% leased. The studios to three-bedroom apartments range between 700 SF and 1,530 SF and start in the $2Ks for rent.

The new debt replaces a $170M construction loan Terra landed in 2024 for the project, adjacent to the Dolphin Park and Ride in West Miami-Dade County, from Scale Lending, a Slate Property subsidiary.

The second phase of Upland, which sits on county-owned land, is expected to break ground later this year and bring another 484 apartments.

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Wells Fargo provided a $53.5M loan to Banyan Street Capital and Independencia Asset Management to refinance a Doral office complex, according to a release.

The loan covers the two-building, 85% leased office complex at the intersection of Doral Boulevard and Northwest 87th Avenue. The owners have invested more than $15M in updating the asset with improvements to the parking structure, elevators, upgraded lobbies, common areas and facades, tenant improvements and move-in-ready spec suites.

A CBRE team of Amy Julian and Andrew Chilgren secured the financing.

SALES

Midtown Capital Partners purchased 14 small-bay industrial properties from 13 undisclosed sellers for $86M, according to a release.

The deal equated to about $296 per SF and is among the highest per-SF valuations for small-bay industrial in the county, according to the release.

The portfolio spans 300K SF along NW 54th Street, 56th Street, 79th Avenue and 82nd Avenue in Doral.

Avison Young’s Michael Fay, David Spillers, Industrial Advisors’ Tommy Gil and David Olade, and Miami Warehouse Real Estate’s Michael Waite handled the transaction on behalf of Midtown Capital.

Martin Waas of Waas Realty represented the sellers.

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An entity managed by Jonathan Perlman purchased a new Whole Foods-anchored shopping center in Doral for $83M from an affiliate of SJC Ventures, according to property records provided by Vizzda.

Perlman assumed the seller’s $50M debt with the Bank of Texas, which was originated in August 2024.

Cushman & Wakefield’s Mark Gilbert, Adam Feinstein and Mitchell Halpern represented the seller in the transaction, according to a release. Lincoln Property Co. represented the buyer.

The 83K SF center at 10800 NW 41st St. spans five buildings. The center is 100% leased, according to Cushman & Wakefield.

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Related Ross, led by billionaire and Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross, paid Acme Improvement District $28.3M for a site where the developer plans a retail-centric project, according to property records provided by Vizzda.

Starwood Capital provided Related with a $29.1M loan to purchase the 31-acre site at 10400 Stribling Way and State Road 7. Related plans to build a 180-key hotel and more than 300K SF of retail, office and restaurant space.

Previous plans for residential were dropped from the project in the equestrian-centric city in Palm Beach County, The Real Deal reported.

The Village Landing in Wellington is part of a 71-acre K-Park site, which includes plans for the Wingrove Academy private school campus. The Ross-owned firm announced it was backing the development of the school last August.

LEASES

Google co-founder Larry Page is taking space for his family office in a seven-story building near Barnacle State Park owned by Azora Private Solutions, Bloomberg reported, citing two anonymous sources.

While it is unclear exactly which building will house Page’s Koop family office, Azora owns two seven-story office buildings in the neighborhood. They are the 57K SF 3225 Aviation Ave. and the 55K SF 3480 Main Highway, which is across the street from Barnacle State Park.

Page has spent nearly $190M on property in Miami over the last year after moving from California amid a proposed state tax hitting ballots in November that would tax billionaires 5% on their total net worth.

Page adds to the growing number of wealthy individuals planting family and office roots in the city this year.

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Cryptocurrency company Hawkeye Digital, formerly Hawkeye Systems, relocated its headquarters to Miami Beach, the South Florida Business Journal reported.

The company is taking space in an Industrious coworking space at 350 Lincoln Road after moving from Charlotte, and Savannah, Georgia, before that.

Hawkeye President David Wachsman told the SFBJ that the company has fewer than 10 full-time employees but is looking to grow its headcount with local hires and move to a traditional lease once the team is more built out.

THIS AND THAT

The 103-year-old Miami-Dade County Courthouse is scheduled for another auction in September after receiving no bids in its Friday auction, The Real Deal reported.

The minimum bid for the site at 73 W. Flagler St. in Downtown Miami is $35.4M. A buyer can’t demolish and replace the structure, and any redevelopment of the site has to preserve elements such as the lobby, atrium and the courtroom on the sixth floor, where infamous gangster Al Capone was tried.