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MG3 Group sells Florida charter school portfolio for $242M
Schools in Homestead, Hollywood and Tampa part of deal
An Aventura-based charter school developer sold two South Florida campuses for $78.1 million, as part of a $242 million portfolio deal for eight schools throughout the state.
MG3 Group, led by Marcelo Saiegh, Hernan Leonoff and Gustavo Bogomolni, sold the schools to nonprofit Educational Growth Fund, according to a press release.
Fort Lauderdale-based Educational Growth Fund is managed by Hugh Jarrett, Dru Damico, Taylor Smith, Sherilynn Moore and Albert Fioravanti, according to state corporate records.
The deal included the sale of Everglades Preparatory Academy middle school at 2251 Mowry Drive in Homestead for $27.2 million, and the sale of Avant Garde Academy at 2025 McKinley Street in Hollywood for $50.4 million.
MG3 Group built the 75,921-square-foot, two-story Everglades Preparatory Academy in 2012 and 2013, property records show. It bought the 10.6-acre site in 2011 for $1.3 million, Leonoff said.
The group developed the 132,929-square-foot Avant Garde Academy in 2015, after buying the 10.5-acre site in 2013 for $5.6 million, according to property records.
MG3 Group also sold BridgePrep Academy of Duval at 6400 Atlantic Boulevard in Jacksonville and Orange County Preparatory Academy at 10250 University Boulevard in Orlando.
The remaining four schools are in Hillsborough County. They are Hillsborough Academy of Math and Science at 9659 West Waters Avenue in Tampa; Navigator Academy of Leadership Valrico at 1101 East Bloomingdale Avenue in Valrico; and BridgePrep Academy of Riverview at 6309 US-301 and Bell Creek Academy at 13221 Boyette Road, also in Riverview.
MG3 Group, which declined to disclose the combined cost for the portfolio site acquisitions, embarked on building charter schools in 2009 as a way to diversify its portfolio, according to the release. It has developed 34 schools.
MG3, along with ESJ Capital Partners, in 2016 sold five Florida charter schools for $71.7 million to Portland-based academic investment group Charter School Capital.
MG3 is building a charter school at the site of the former Miami Herald printing facility at 3500 Northwest 89th Court in Doral, after buying the site in October for $11.6 million.
The group also invests in other types of commercial real estate. In 2019, it bought a pair of Sunrise office buildings at 789-799 International Parkway for $32.7 million.