California firm buys Fort Myers apartments

A San Diego based company has acquired a 640-unit Southwest Florida apartment complex for a near-record price of $96 million.

DAS-Alliance Group’s purchase of the Retreat at Vista Lake, in Fort Myers, marks its first acquisition in the three-county region of Southwest Florida that includes Charlotte, Lee and Collier counties.

DAS-Alliance officials could not be reached for comment on the acquisition. The company typically seeks to purchase properties containing between 200 and 600 units and at a cost of $25 million to $96 million, according to its website.

Das-Alliance affiliate DASAG Retreat Vista Lake LLC bought the complex from an entity controlled by Los Angeles-based TruAmerica Multifamily, according to Lee County property records. TruAmerica had owned the complex since July 2017, records indicate, when it paid $66 million for Retreat at Vista Lake.

Commercial real estate brokerage JLL represented TruAmerica in the transaction and procured DAS-Alliance. The JLL team on the deal was led by Senior Managing Director Matt Mitchell and also included Zach Nolan, Brett Moss, Drew Jennewein, Jarrod Smith and Bailey Smith.

Completed in 1990, Retreat at Vista Lake contains 32 garden-style multifamily rental buildings on 35 acres, and its units average 867 square feet. The 3701 Winkler Ave. complex features amenities such as a pair of swimming pools, a fitness center, tennis and racquetball courts, outdoor grills, a basketball court and a dog park.

The transaction also marks the second-largest multifamily rental deal in Fort Myers history, eclipsed only by the $109 million sale of the Gulfstream Isles Apartments last year.

In that case, Dallas-based Lurin Capital acquired the 936-unit complex from an affiliate of Starwood Capital, the second time in three years that the 39-acre community had traded. Gulfstream Isles was completed in 1998, records show.