Investors like the growth potential. The appetite for this type of asset class is growing. In fact, this deal comes three months after former tennis pro Andre Agassi and his business partner/investor Bobby Turner sold a Boynton Beach charter school for $22.3 million and Franklin Academy in Cooper City for $20 million.

GlobeSt.com: How are charter schools fitting the category of a new commercial real estate asset class?

Noel: Charter schools are public schools run by private companies. Increasingly, developers are building charter schools and leasing them out to charter school operators. In those instances, the property becomes an income-producing asset where the investor collects rent. In most cases, the rent is paid by the state/public funds.

MIAMI—Commercial real estate investors—from REITs to hedge funds—are beginning to turn their attention to a new asset class with high growth potential: charter schools. One example is Aventura-based ESJ Capital and its minority partner, MG3 Development.

The firms recently closed on the $71.74 million sale of five Florida charter schools to buyer Charter School Capital based in Portland, Oregon. Colliers International Education Services Group brokers, Achikam Yogev and Todd Noel, brokered the complex deal, which is one of the largest transactions in Florida involving charter schools. GlobeSt.com sat down with the two brokers to find out how the rise of this new asset class is impacting the commercial real estate market.

GlobeSt.com: What does the sale of a five-charter school portfolio tell us about the commercial real estate industry?

Yogev: It highlights the rise of the charter school as a new asset class in the commercial real estate realm. From REITs to hedge funds and private investors, they are increasingly pursuing charter school deals, especially in states like Florida, which tend to be pro-charter schools. Case in point: the charter school enrollment in Florida jumped from 98,755 in the 2006-07 school year to 270,301 in school year 2015-16, according to the FDLOE.

Investors like the growth potential. The appetite for this type of asset class is growing. In fact, this deal comes three months after former tennis pro Andre Agassi and his business partner/investor Bobby Turner sold a Boynton Beach charter school for $22.3 million and Franklin Academy in Cooper City for $20 million.

GlobeSt.com: How are charter schools fitting the category of a new commercial real estate asset class?

Noel: Charter schools are public schools run by private companies. Increasingly, developers are building charter schools and leasing them out to charter school operators. In those instances, the property becomes an income-producing asset where the investor collects rent. In most cases, the rent is paid by the state/public funds.