Freeport Equity, led by Renzo Pisa and Nicholas Kling, has acquired two Montessori schools in Jupiter for a total of $12.9 million. These schools, previously owned by Rohit and Bharati Dandiya, are located at 740 West Indiantown Road and 926 Maplewood Drive. Freeport secured an $8.4 million cross-collateralized loan from Amerant Bank for these acquisitions.
The Indiantown Road facility, built in 1997, comprises an 11,000-square-foot, one-story building on 1.2 acres. It offers programs for children aged 18 months to kindergarten. Freeport acquired this property for $4.3 million.
On Maplewood Drive, the school, constructed in 2009, features a two-story, 19,400-square-foot building on 1.8 acres. It provides programs for elementary through middle school levels. Freeport purchased this property for $8.6 million.
Freeport Equity specializes in education-related real estate investment and management. Renzo Pisa and Nicholas Kling lead the firm, which currently holds a portfolio of 10 properties leased to Endeavor Schools across several states. Their ambitious goal is to acquire up to 50 schools by 2025.
This transaction occurs in a market experiencing a slowdown in commercial real estate investment sales due to increased financing costs. While educational real estate purchases have been relatively subdued in South Florida, some schools have changed hands as part of larger transactions involving adjacent religious organizations’ real estate.
In April, Westminster Christian School acquired the Sunrise School of Miami and the neighboring Christ Congregational Church in Palmetto Bay for $10 million. Aventura-based MG3 Group, a charter school developer, engaged in a significant sale of schools ahead of rising financing costs. In 2021, they sold the Everglades Preparatory Academy middle school in Homestead for $27.2 million, and the Avant Garde Academy in Hollywood for $50.4 million, as part of a $242 million sale of eight schools across Florida.
