(BRK.A), (BRK.B)
Berkadia, Berkshire Hathaway’s joint venture with Jefferies Financial Group, has arranged the sale of 72 West, a 291-unit, Class B multifamily community located in Tamarac, Florida.
Managing Directors Roberto Pesant and Jaret Turkell of Berkadia’s Miami office, and Director Yoav Yuhjtman of Berkadia’s Boca Raton office, arranged the sale on behalf a New York-based investment group.
A Canadian investment group acquired the property for $47 million.
“The seller bought this property as a fractured condo (222 out of 291 units) in 2016 for $22 million, and has since fully executed its strategy to buy back the privately owned units, collapse the HOA, and stabilize and rebrand the property as 72 West,” said Yuhjtman. “With occupancy at 95.5 percent in this submarket and no new deliveries in the immediate area this year, the new owner has an opportunity to capture some upside from growing demand for high-quality apartment rentals in western Broward County.”
Located at 8650 NW 61st Street in Tamarac, 72 West was built in 1987 and consists of one- and two-bedroom apartments ranging from 756 to 899 square feet. The asset is comprised of nine buildings; six are three-story, garden-style elevator served buildings and three are single-story villas with semi-private entrances and patios. Amenities include two clubhouses with pools.
72 West is ideally located within five minutes of the Sawgrass Expressway and 10 minutes from Florida’s Turnpike, and feeds into the highly rated Coral Springs public school system. The property is close to Sawgrass Mills Mall and the BB&T Center, and just a 30-minute drive to the Boca Raton and Plantation employment markets.
About Berkadia
Founded in 2009 as a 50/50 joint venture between Berkshire Hathaway and Leucadia National Corporation (now known as Jefferies Financial Group), Berkadia is a third-party commercial mortgage servicer, as well as an approved lender for Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and HUD/FHA.
The company is among the top Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae multifamily lenders.
Berkadia owes its origins to GMAC Commercial Mortgage Corporation, which was acquired in 2009 by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., Five Mile Capital Partners LLC, and Goldman Sachs Capital Partners. Christened Capmark Financial, the company had $10 billion of originations in 2008 and a servicing portfolio of more than $360 billion before running into bankruptcy in October 2009.
In a deal approved by the bankruptcy court, Capmark sold its mortgage loan and servicing to the newly formed Berkadia in a deal worth $515 million.
The deal brought Berkshire into the heart of the commercial loan serving business, and the company has one of the largest commercial real estate servicing portfolios.
© 2019 David Mazor
Disclosure: David Mazor is a freelance writer focusing on Berkshire Hathaway. The author is long in Berkshire Hathaway, and this article is not a recommendation on whether to buy or sell the stock. The information contained in this article should not be construed as personalized or individualized investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.