JACKSONVILLE, FL-Carter, an Atlanta-based commercial real estate investor, has formed a joint venture to acquire the loan on Valencia at the Beach, a condo development at Ponte Vedra Beach. The Carter Real Estate Fund II acquisition marks the firm’s entry into the distressed condominium market.

The joint venture’s acquisition includes 42 units in shell condition, as well as land for additional condos. Macon, Ga.-based Sierra Development, the original developer, built and sold 162 condos. When completed, Valencia will have 245 condominiums in five buildings, including 41 that Carter would develop in the fifth building.

“When the condo market crashed in Florida, people walked out on their contracts at Valencia at the Beach,” John Akin, senior vice president of Carter, tells GlobeSt.com. “By the time they tried to resell those units, the demand wasn’t there at the price point they needed. This is a high-quality condo in a great location, but it got caught in the storm.”