Landmark buys off-campus rentals and development site from University of Miami

Landmark Properties has purchased a student housing complex and adjacent development site west of the University of Miami.

Athens, Georgia-based Landmark has purchased The Cloisters Miami, a two-building rental community at 5830 Southwest 57th Avenue, and the 2 acres of vacant land next door for $23.3 million, records show.

Landmark also closed a construction loan of $41.8 million, indicating that other student housing development projects may be underway. Webster Bank was the lender. The amount of the loan can be up to $83.6 million, records show.

The purchase gives Landmark control of nearly the entire block between Red Road and Southwest 57th Avenue and between Southwest 58th Terrace and 60th Street.

The property, which totals nearly 5 acres, is in an unincorporated area of ​​Miami-Dade County and two blocks west of UM’s main campus in Coral Gables.

Chicago-based CA Ventures paid $21 million for the property in 2019 in two deals, one for the land and the other for The Cloisters. At the time, Cloisters was a condominium but has since been converted to rental.

The 79-unit Cloisters have 128 beds and offer one- to three-bedroom units, according to the Landmark website. The pet-friendly community includes a swimming pool.

Landmark did not respond to requests for comment.

Landmark developed The Standard at Coral Gables student housing at 1515 San Remo Avenue, after buying the site from Shoma Group in 2018 for $30 million.

Landmark, led by co-founders J. Wesley Rogers and James Whitley, also operates The One in University City near Florida International University. It has student housing communities across the country and in Florida its properties are in Orlando, Gainesville, Tallahassee and Tampa, according to its website.

In August, Landmark and Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust formed a $784 million joint venture to purchase and recapitalize student housing. The JV is focused on a portfolio of eight properties, 5,400 beds and assets near “leading universities”, Blackstone had said.

It is unclear if the Cloisters purchase is one of the eight properties.

The Blackstone-Landmark joint venture and the recent purchase of Landmark in South Florida are the latest deals marking a strong investment appetite for this type of property.

The market rebounded in 2021 when universities resumed in-person classes and is expected to grow in the near future. The National Multifamily Housing Council reports that the student housing market is expected to grow by approximately 700,000 beds over the next decade.