Although attractive multifamily investment opportunities may still be available in gateway cities, investors increasingly are sourcing deals in secondary markets where land and asset prices are lower, cap rates a bit more generous and an unpicked gem of value-add fruit can still be found on the vine by intrepid late-cycle buyers. Parties looking to replicate past successes may not have to look too far afield as Maryland markets — overshadowed of late by Washington and Philadelphia — offer much of what they seek with perhaps a lower degree of risk. In the last decade and particularly the last three years, the catalyst for economic growth in the Capital Area has shifted from government to high-tech services. As the tide turned, the focus of commercial real estate activity moved south toward Washington’s central core and Northern Virginia. In the process, the Maryland suburbs lost some of their star power. The diminished status of Montgomery and Prince George’s counties wasn’t entirely a matter of perception. Suburban Maryland apartment performance materially underperformed national averages in 2017 and 2018, and the spread widened between cap rates applied to Maryland properties on one hand and District and Northern Virginia assets on the other. Same-store property …
Multifamily
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CHATTANOOGA, TENN. — Hamilton Zanze Properties has acquired Bluebird Row Apartments, a 283-unit multifamily community in Chattanooga. The sales price was not disclosed, but the Chattanooga Times Free Press reports the San Francisco-based buyer paid $63.2 million, or $223,145 per unit, for the complex. The local newspaper also reports the seller was the development firm that delivered the property in 2019, Birmingham, Ala.-based Choo Choo Residences LLC, a subsidiary of LIV Development LLC. The property comprises four buildings and offers studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom floor plans averaging 935 square feet. Communal amenities include a pool, rooftop lounge, 24-hour self-serve market, outdoor grilling stations, rock climbing wall, bocce ball court, pet spa and a yoga studio. Mission Rock Residential will manage the community.
Walker & Dunlop Provides $51.9M HUD Construction Loan for Apartment Complex in Downtown Huntsville
by Alex Tostado
HUNTSVILLE, ALA. — Walker & Dunlop has provided a $51.9 million construction loan to Spring Bay Property Co. and RCP Cos. for Eclipse at CityCentre, a planned five-story, 278-unit apartment complex in downtown Huntsville. Walker & Dunlop provided the loan through the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) 221(d)(4) construction program, which includes both construction and permanent financing in a single loan. The two-year term for the construction period is followed by a 40-year, fully amortizing, fixed-rate loan. The property is situated within an Opportunity Zone, meaning the developers are required to hold the asset for at least 10 years in order to not pay capital gains on the investment. Keith Melton, David Strange, Livingston Hessam and Jeremy Pino of Walker & Dunlop originated the loan on behalf of the borrowers. Once complete, Eclipse at CityCentre will offer studio, one- and two-bedroom floor plans. The majority of the apartments will feature private balconies. Community amenities will include a heated pool, fitness center, pet walking and grooming area, grilling areas, outdoor fire pit and views of Big Spring Park. A timeline for construction was not disclosed. Eclipse at CityCentre will sit atop 18,000 square feet of restaurant and retail space and …
JACKSONVILLE, FLA. — CBRE has negotiated the $22.2 million sale of Ansley at Harts Road, a 225-unit multifamily complex in Jacksonville. The property offers one-, two- and three-bedroom floor plans. Communal amenities include a wellness center and pool. The asset, which was built in 1988, is situated at 11011 Harts Road, eight miles north of downtown Jacksonville. Cliff Taylor and Joe Ayers of CBRE represented the undisclosed seller in the transaction. Washington, D.C.-based Madison Marquette acquired the community.
HOUSTON AND ROUND ROCK, TEXAS — San Antonio-based investment firm Lynd Acquisitions Group has acquired three multifamily properties, one in Houston and two in the northern Austin suburb of Round Rock, for $150 million. Lynd acquired the Houston property, the 282-units Royal Oaks at Westchase, in partnership with Miami-based Florida Value Partners. The Round Rock properties, the 411-unit Enclave Frontera and 366-unit Lakeside at La Frontera, were both built in 2001 and feature one-, two- and three-bedroom floor plans. Lynd will invest $15 million in capital improvements to the two Round Rock communities and $5 million in upgrades to the Houston community. The seller was Sy Li, a private investor that acquired all three properties from the original developers within the last 20 years and made no upgrades during that period.
KYLE, TEXAS — BSR REIT, an investment firm that specializes in garden-style multifamily properties in the Sun Belt region, has purchased the 349-unit Ariza Plum Creek Apartments in the Austin suburb of Kyle for $55 million. Built in 2018, the property features one-, two- and three-bedroom units and amenities such as a pool, dog park, fitness center and package lockers. The seller was not disclosed. With this transaction, BSR REIT now owns approximately 1,200 apartments in the greater Austin area.
HOUSTON — Institutional Property Advisors (IPA), a division of Marcus & Millichap, has negotiated the sale of Towers at Clear Lake, a 216-unit multifamily asset situated on 11.8 acres in the southeastern Houston suburb of Clear Lake. Built in 1985, the property formerly offered a mix of apartments and condominiums. Will Balthrope, Drew Kile, Jennifer Campbell and William Griffin of IPA represented the seller, Dallas-based investment firm The ValCap Group, in the transaction. The team also procured the buyer, New Jersey-based Raamco International. IPA also recently brokered the sale of the 304-unit Trails at Lake Houston between The Valcap Group and Raamco.
BLOOMFIELD, CONN. — Chozick Realty has brokered the $12 million sale of Wedgewood apartments, a 112-unit apartment community in Bloomfield, a northern suburb of Hartford. The community was constructed in the 1960s and features one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments. The seller was a local family office. The buyer was a regional investor that targets garden-style apartments. Both parties involved in the transaction requested anonymity.
SURPRISE, TOLLESON, LITCHFIELD PARK AND PHOENIX, ARIZ. — Oak Brook, Ill.-based Inland Real Estate Acquisitions, on behalf of an affiliate of The Inland Real Estate Group of Companies, has acquired five Christopher Todd Communities in the Phoenix metro area. The portfolio includes 943 single-family rental homes. Three communities — Christopher Todd Communities On Greenway in Surprise, Christopher Todd Communities At Country Park in Tolleson and Christopher Todd Communities On Camelback in Litchfield Park — were included in the closing on Friday, March 13. The purchase of Christopher Todd Communities At Marley Park in Surprise and Christopher Todd Communities At Stadium in Phoenix are pending and slated to close in the near future. The communities were the first Christopher Todd Communities to be constructed as the company began its development of “smart-gated” communities offering pet-friendly one- and two-bedroom, single-family homes with private backyards and resort-style luxury amenities. Trevor Koskovich, Jesse Hudson and Bill Hahn of NorthMarq represented the buyer and seller in the deal. James DuMars and Griffin Martin of NorthMarq’s Phoenix office arranged acquisition financing for the buyer.
LOS ANGELES — Champion Real Estate Co. has purchased a student housing community located at 2353 Portland St. in Los Angeles. Century Park sold the asset for $14.1 million. Champion plans to rebrand the property as Victory on Portland and renovate the complex, which was built in 1964. The renovations will change Victory on Portland into a 102-bed property offering units with stainless steel appliances, HVAC units, stone countertops, modern cabinetry and laminate wood flooring. The apartments will be fully furnished with beds, couches, chairs, coffee tables, dining tables, flat-screen televisions, cable, internet, Wi-Fi, Sonos soundbars and other amenities. On-site amenities will include an updated swimming pool, amenity deck, student lounge and leasing office. John Taksa of RE/MAX Commercial & Investment Realty represented the buyer and seller in the transaction.