Calta Group Plans Hollywood, Florida Apartments
Hollywood (Reinaldo Borges of Borges Architects & Associates, iStock)
An Italian developer closed on the site of a planned Hollywood apartment project, adding to a growing pipeline of multifamily developments in South Florida.
Coral Gables-based Calta Group, led by founders and brothers Ignazio and Gaetano Caltagirone, and Managing Partner Igor Blatnik, paid $9.5 million for the 1.6-acre property at 2215 Hollywood Boulevard. Calta plans an eight-story, 180-unit development on the site, Gaetano Caltagirone said.
The $70 million project, designed by Reinaldo Borges of Borges Architects & Associates, will include a pool, business center, gym, live-work spaces and ground floor retail, according to a press release. Construction is expected to begin in the fourth quarter.
Property records show Hollywood Construction & Development LLC, led by Joseph Horn, sold the site to Calta. The property is currently home to low-rise commercial buildings. It’s west of Young Circle in downtown Hollywood.
The Caltagirones, who have been investing in South Florida since 2008, are part of a real estate dynasty in Italy. In South Florida, Calta has more than $150 million in planned projects, including luxury single-family homes in Coral Gables, Pinecrest and South Miami, Caltagirone said.
The two Caltagirone brothers left the family business in Europe and began buying single-family homes in Hollywood and Hallandale Beach during the recession. They renovated the houses and sold the portfolio in 2012 to two large funds, Caltagirone said.
The Hollywood project is their first multifamily development.
Rents and occupancy rates have been rising to record levels in South Florida, as out-of-state residents flood the market, and multifamily developers have taken note. Miami led the U.S. in rent hikes during the pandemic, with the median rent spiking 58 percent to about $3,000 per month in March, compared to March 2020, according to a Realtor.com report.
In the Hillcrest area of Hollywood, the owner-operator of the Nautilus Apartments recently won renewed approval to expand the property to 277 units.
