BOSTON — A joint venture led by Taurus Investment Holdings and Northbridge Cos. has acquired six Class A seniors housing properties located in suburban Boston submarkets for approximately $200 million. The 507-unit portfolio consists of assisted living and memory care. Northbridge, a developer, owner, operator and asset manager of senior living communities, already manages the properties. The seller was Welltower, the largest REIT in the seniors housing space. The acquisition marks Taurus’ first investment in the seniors housing sector. The specific names and locations of the properties were not disclosed. Newmark Knight Frank represented Welltower in the transaction and also arranged acquisition financing for the buyer.
NEWARK, N.J. — Development and investment firm Paramount Assets is nearing completion of a two-building, 47-unit historic multifamily redevelopment project in Newark. The building at 30 Clinton St. was constructed in 1910 and is complete, and the building at 40 Clinton St. was constructed in 1914 and is nearing completion. Residents at both buildings have access to a fitness center, lounge and storage spaces. The development also includes ground-floor retail space, 2,500 square feet of which is occupied by the U.S. Post Office.
PFLUGERVILLE, TEXAS — A partnership between Thompson Realty Capital and Trez Capital has broken ground on The Dalton, a 350-unit apartment community in the northern Austin metro of Pflugerville. The property will be situated on 21 acres and will offer one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments with quartz or granite countertops and stainless steel appliances. Amenities will include a pool, courtyard, communal kitchen spaces, a social bar, fitness center, independent study rooms, a dog park and outdoor walking trails. The Dalton is the partnership’s fourth project and is expected to be complete in 2021. Texas Capital Bank provided construction financing.
MCKINNEY, TEXAS — General contractor KWA Construction has completed Axiom Hub 121, a 246-unit multifamily project located in the northern Dallas suburb of McKinney. Designed by Domus Studio Group and developed by Seneca Investments, the property spans 340,000 square feet within the Craig Ranch master-planned development. Axiom Hub 121 offers one- and two-bedroom units that are furnished with stainless steel appliances, granite countertops, built-in workspaces and individual washers and dryers. Amenities include a pool with a tanning ledge, car wash facility, a sports lounge with a coffee bar, 24-hour fitness center, bocce ball court, Amazon package lockers and coworking space. Rents start at approximately $1,150 per month for a one-bedroom unit.
HOUSTON — CBRE has provided a $20 million Freddie Mac bridge loan for the refinancing of Vintage Apartments, a 292-unit multifamily community located in the Brookhollow neighborhood of Houston. The 10-year, floating-rate loan is the first to be purchased by Freddie Mac that is indexed by the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR), the new benchmark rate that lenders use to price loans and the replacement of the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR). According to Apartments.com, Vintage Apartments was built in 1972 and offers studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom units, as well as a pool, playground, outdoor grilling area and onsite laundry facilities. The borrower was not disclosed.
MINNEOLA, FLA. — The Bainbridge Cos. has been selected to manage Minneola Hills, a multifamily community that is under construction in Minneola. VRM Cos. and Skorman Development Corp. are the developers of the asset, which spans 16.5 acres at 450 Hillside Park St., 25 miles west of downtown Orlando. Upon completion, the property will feature 297 units with a mix of one-, two- and three-bedroom floor plans. Communal amenities will include a clubhouse, fitness center, cyber café, dog park and a car washing area. The co-developers expect to deliver the community this winter. Bainbridge Cos. is based in Wellington, Fla., and operates 57 communities in five states and Washington, D.C.
AVONDALE, ARIZ. — Risi Cos. has purchased 9.5 acres of land at 290 La Canada Blvd. in Avondale for $1.3 million, or $136,842 per acre. Earlier this month, Risi received approval to rezone the land from commercial to high-density residential, enabling the company to develop the Crystal Cove apartment community on the site. Crystal Cove will feature 238 apartments in a mix of one-, two- and three-bedroom units. Additionally, the gated community will offer a clubhouse, swimming pool, 109 garages and additional covered parking for Avondale residents. Larry Kush of Orion Investment Real Estate represented the sellers, Robert Delacour and Dianna Costa, while Zack Mishkin of Orion Investment Real Estate represented the buyer in the land sale transaction.
GRESHAM, ORE. — A joint venture between Trion Properties and AMC Investments has purchased Hood Apartments, a newly constructed multifamily community in Gresham. An undisclosed seller sold the asset for $12 million. Located at 1833 SE Sixth St. on 2.8 acres, Hood Apartments features 64 units in a mix of one- and two-bedroom layouts. The asset was vacant upon sale. Continental Partners sourced an acquisition loan for the transaction. Jordan Carter, Tyler Linn, Clay Newton and John DeJager of Kidder Mathews represented the buyers in the transaction.
COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO. — Watermark Residential, a wholly owned affiliate of Thompson Thrift, has acquired nearly 21 acres of land in Colorado Springs for the development of Ascent by Watermark. The three-story, resort-style multifamily community will feature 360 apartments in a mix of one-, two- and three-bedroom layouts, averaging just under 1,000 square feet. Each apartment will include gourmet bar-kitchens with quartz countertops, stainless steel appliances, walk-in closets, garden tubs, full-size washers/dryers and designer light fixtures. Ascent by Watermark will offer a variety of amenities, including a clubhouse with televisions; conference rooms; technology centers; a 24-hour fitness center with Fitness On Demand and spinning rooms; swimming pool with cabanas and entertainment areas; and pet-friendly bark parks and doggie spas. Construction is slated to begin later this month, with completion scheduled for fall 2022.
Multifamily investors prefer to concentrate capital in the primary markets. Although prices are steep and cap rates low, the gateway cities offer private equity and institutional buyers the young, affluent tenants, economic diversification, deep trough of performance data and property market liquidity that can’t be found in smaller cities. Gateway cities offer these assets…until they don’t. The pandemic recession has turned the usual way of looking at things upside down. At least for the moment, tenants are fleeing the high costs and perceived dangers of dense urban living for the relative safety and larger floor plans found in suburbs and, in some cases, secondary and tertiary markets. The impact on property performance is significant. In the modern urban mid- and high-rise buildings favored by large portfolio investors, occupancy and rents are down materially, trimming forward-looking net operating income 15 percent or more in many Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco buildings. Determining fair asset value is nearly impossible under the circumstances. Buyers still may be willing to bid at prices generating deeply sub-4 percent initial yields but only against conservatively underwritten NOI levels that discount an extended period of performance weakness. Few owners are willing to realize the resulting …