CHICAGO — Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust Inc. (BREIT) has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Chicago-based Home Partners of America (HPA), valuing the company at $6 billion. HPA purchases, owns and operates single-family rental homes and provides a path to homeownership for individuals and families across the United States. HPA’s portfolio includes more than 17,000 homes across the country. BREIT intends to support the HPA management team as it explores opportunities to expand access to high-quality housing for lower-income households, including by formally launching its Choice Lease program. This program aims to provide a direct and tangible opportunity to help address housing affordability challenges for families, according to Blackstone. “The fundamental premise of the HPA platform is to provide residents with the opportunity to live in their chosen home with the option to purchase it,” says Jacob Werner, senior managing director with Blackstone Real Estate. “We intend to build on that goal and expand access to homes across the United States.” The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter. BREIT is externally managed by a subsidiary of Blackstone (NYSE: BX), which maintains approximately $196 billion in investor capital under management.
IOWA CITY AND CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA — JLL has arranged the sale of a 1.4 million-square-foot industrial portfolio in Iowa City and Cedar Rapids for $54 million. The Class B portfolio, currently 80 percent occupied, consists of five buildings that were constructed in the early 2000s. Three properties are in Iowa City at 2561, 2570 and 2610 Independence Road. The others are in Cedar Rapids at 5404 and 5507 Ely Road. Marcus Pitts, Justin Lossner, Michael Minard and Austin Hedstrom of JLL represented the seller, 2570 Independence LLC. JLL will continue to serve as leasing agent on behalf of the undisclosed buyer. The sale represents the largest industrial portfolio sale ever recorded in Iowa, according to JLL.
EVANSTON, ILL. — Marcus & Millichap has brokered the sale of Evanston Plaza in Evanston for $36.2 million. The 212,759-square-foot shopping center is located at 1910 Dempster St. Valli Fresh Market anchors the center and occupies 69,210 square feet. Renovated in 2015, the property was 97 percent leased at the time of sale. Adrian Mendoza, Austin Weisenbeck and Sean Sharko of Marcus & Millichap marketed the center on behalf of the seller, a private investor. The team also secured and represented the buyer, a limited liability company.
CHELSEA, MASS. — Burgess Properties LLC has brokered the sales of two industrial buildings located in the northeastern Boston suburb of Chelsea for a combined $17.5 million. The first property at 3-7 Griffin Way spans 33,515 square feet and features a clear height of 20 feet. Oliver Street Capital purchased that asset for $10 million. The second building at 25 Griffin Way totals 25,000 square feet and features a clear height of 27 feet. That property sold to an undisclosed, Boston-based investor for $7.5 million. Steve Nohrden of Burgess Properties brokered the deals. The sellers in both transactions requested anonymity.
NEW YORK CITY — Brokerage firm TerraCRG has negotiated the $3.7 million sale of a 6,684-square-foot industrial building in the Gowanus area of Brooklyn. ABC Collision, an auto repair shop that has operated in the area for more than 20 years, purchased the property from Advanced JAF Holding LLC. Brokers involved in the deal included Dan Marks, Daniel Lebor and Adam Tannenbaum of TerraCRG, as well as Jakub Nowak and Jake Torre of Marcus & Millichap and Thomas Cordasco.
SAN DIEGO — Regent Properties has acquired a portfolio of four office buildings in downtown San Diego for $420 million. The acquisition marks Regent’s first investment via its Regent Opportunity Fund V. The high-rise properties include 1 Columbia Place, 701 B Street, 2 Columbia Place and 707 Broadway. Totaling 1.5 million square feet, the buildings represent approximately 16 percent of all Class A and B office inventory in downtown San Diego, according to Regent. The transaction, which equates to $281 per square foot, also includes a parking garage. Privately owned real estate investment adviser Emmes was the seller, according to The San Diego Union-Tribune. “With this investment, Regent is continuing its push to acquire high-quality office projects across the Sunbelt,” says Eric Fleiss, CEO of Regent. “We are seeking to purchase over $2 billion of assets over the next 24 months.” Prior to the sale, the seller extensively renovated the portfolio’s common areas, including upgrading the lobbies and outdoor amenities. Regent plans to augment these renovations with additional “hospitality-oriented improvements,” such as new fitness centers, conference centers, eateries and community gathering places like outdoor terraces and wine lounges. “To successfully attract and retain tenants today, we need to give them …
MAITLAND, FLA. — Fundrise has acquired Lake Shadow Apartments, a 300-unit, Class A multifamily property in metro Orlando. Bainbridge Cos. sold the community to Fundrise for $83.1 million. Located on a 16-acre site at 2200 Flagler Promenade Way in Maitland, the property will be renamed Luna at Lake Shadow. The 330,000-square-foot community features one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments. Regions Bank provided an undisclosed amount of acquisition financing to Fundrise, a Washington, D.C.-based real estate investment platform. Bainbridge Cos. LLC is a Wellington, Fla.-based owner, developer and manager of multifamily apartment communities in the Eastern United States and Texas.
OPELIKA, ALA. — W. P. Carey Inc., a New York City-based net lease REIT, has purchased an industrial property located at 3101 Anderson Road in Opelika for $49 million. W. P. Carey purchased the 703,000-square-foot, Class A logistics facility in a sale-leaseback transaction with JOANN, a sewing and fabrics retailer based in Hudson, Ohio. The property is triple-net-leased to JOANN for a period of 20 years, with fixed annual rent escalations. The cross-dock facility features up to 40-foot clear heights and is on a site that allows for future expansion. The property is located along Interstate 85. Built in 2005, it supplies products to more than one-third of JOANN’s nearly 900 retail locations nationwide.
SAN ANTONIO — A partnership between Chicago-based investment firm Pearlmark and Austin-based Old Three Hundred Capital LLC (OTH) has purchased Park West and Parliament Bend, two adjacent multifamily properties in San Antonio totaling 560 units. According to Apartments.com, Park West features studio, one- and two-bedroom units and amenities such as a pool, fitness center, volleyball court, playground and a dog park. Parliament Bend offers one- and two-bedroom units as well as fitness and business centers, outdoor grilling and picnic areas, a dog park and onsite laundry facilities. The new ownership will implement a value-add program.
FARMERS BRANCH, TEXAS — Locally based firm Darwin German Real Estate Investments has sold Villa Creek, a 161-unit apartment complex in the northern Dallas metro of Farmers Branch. According to Apartments.com, the property was built in 1965 and features one- and two-bedroom units. Darwin German originally purchased the asset in 2016 in an off-market deal. Chris Deuillet and William Hubbard of CBRE represented the buyer, Dallas-based Blue Ocean Capital LLC, in the transaction. William Givens and Robert Siddall, also with CBRE, arranged acquisition financing on behalf of the new ownership.