ARA Facilitates Bulk Sale of Unsold Units at San Michele, West Palm Beach, FL

 West Palm Beach, FL (Nov. 8, 2010) — The South Florida office of ARA, the largest privately held, full-service investment advisory brokerage firm in the nation focusing exclusively on the multihousing industry, announced the sale of 179 bulk units within the 300-unit San Michele condominium (top left photo) community in West Palm Beach, FL.

The transaction was arranged by ARA Florida’s Boca Raton-based team of Avery Klann (middle right photo), Hampton Beebe (middle left photo) , and Marc deBaptiste (lower right photo).

The Bankruptcy Trustee, Robert C. Furr, of Boca Raton, Florida, retained ARA to facilitate the 363 Bankruptcy Sale. The Auction, held in open Court on October 19, 2010, stipulated the placement of a $1 million, non-refundable deposit to bid. The transaction closed on November 5, 2010.

 ARA brought five qualified bidders to the October 19 auction. Bidding started at $9.6 million and moved up in $100,000 increments to a final bid of $11.15 million by DREA Group of Bay Harbor, FL.š

 "The bankruptcy trustee and judge were very pleased with the high level of interest created by ARA's marketing efforts," said Avery Klann, lead broker for the deal.

 San Michele was built in 1999 and features a total of 300 units in a quality, garden-style condominium community located in the desirable and well-established city of West Palm Beach in Palm Beach County, Florida. 

 San Michele features 13 three-story buildings adjacent to a preserve, a lake and a grocery store. Construction is of concrete block with painted masonry on a reinforced concrete foundation.

The property offers its residents a swimming pool, clubhouse, exercise room, playground and controlled access. Individual unit features include preserve and lake views, washers and dryers, screened balcony/patio, high ceilings and ceiling fans.

 "San Michele offers excellent accessibility to major transportation thoroughfares such as Florida’s Turnpike (two miles east) and U.S. 441/State Road 7 (one mile west), as well as to major employment, entertainment and recreational venues, position the property as an attractive investment," according to broker Hampton Beebe, Senior Vice President of Boca Raton-based ARA Florida.   

To schedule an interview with an ARA executive regarding this transaction or for more information about ARA, nationally please contact

 Lisa Robinson (lrobinson@ARAusa.com)

 or Amy Morris (amorris@ARAusa.com) at (404) 495-7300;

 Locally, please contact Marti Zenor at mzenor@ARAusa.com

 or (561) 988-8800.šš