The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, through its real estate investment arm Property Reserve, has acquired the 384-unit Del Ola apartment complex in Boca Raton for $152.5 million. The transaction continues the church’s recent pattern of investing in South Florida properties.
Property Reserve, based in Salt Lake City, purchased the property at 7801 North Federal Highway from a Clarion Partners affiliate. According to records and Vizzda, a real estate database, the price equates to more than $397,100 per unit. Del Ola was built between 2012 and 2013 and includes 19 three-story apartment buildings along with amenities such as a clubhouse and garages on a 17.4-acre site.
Clarion Partners had previously acquired Del Ola for $120.8 million in 2019.
The apartments at Del Ola range from one-bedroom to three-bedroom units, with monthly rents listed between $2,169 and $4,802 on the property’s website.
Ashley Powell leads Property Reserve. Since 2023, the company has made several notable acquisitions in South Florida. These include ownership of Beacon Logistics Park—a 1.3 million-square-foot industrial campus on 75 acres in Hialeah—purchased through multiple deals from Codina Partners and Affinius Capital; an eight-story Ellsworth apartment building with 315 units in Plantation bought for $133 million; and Elan Polo Gardens near Wellington for $102.4 million.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has been criticized over its large real estate portfolio and limited financial transparency due to minimal public disclosure requirements. In 2023, both the church and Ensign Peak Advisors settled claims by the Securities and Exchange Commission that their holdings were obscured using about a dozen limited liability companies; settlements were reached for $1 million by the church and $4 million by Ensign Peak Advisors without admission or denial of wrongdoing.
Another investment entity linked to the church, Farmland Reserve, spent $289 million last year acquiring farms across several states including Florida.
Multifamily investment sales have risen recently in South Florida despite high interest rates and flat or declining rent growth. Buyers are often relying on Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae loans or alternative financing methods such as assuming existing debt or making all-cash purchases; Property Reserve did not record a mortgage for this acquisition.
Recent transactions reflect this trend: AvalonBay Communities paid $98.3 million for Avalon Coconut Creek’s 270 units without recording a mortgage (https://www.therealdeal.com/miami/2025/08/12/avalonbay-pays-98m-for-coconut-creek-apartments/) while Favo Capital acquired Hollywood’s 277-unit Park tower via an all-stock deal (https://www.therealdeal.com/miami/2025/08/14/favo-capital-buys-hollywood-apartment-tower-in-all-stock-deal-assumes-liabilities/) involving assumption of liabilities.
