Dealmaker: Trevian Capital, Crown Properties Make $35M Multifamily Acquisition

A joint venture between Trevian Capital and Crown Properties acquired three multifamily properties totaling 407 units in Elgin, Ill., Madison, Wis. and Chesterton, Ind. for $34.6 million.

Trevian and Crown acquired the three garden-style asset portfolio from a longtime family owner/operator. The 1970s- and 1980s-vintage portfolio was 94 percent occupied at closing. The partners plan to cure deferred maintenance, add amenities, rebrand the properties and bring rents up to market. They have budgeted more than $3.5 million in upgrades throughout the portfolio in the near term.

The rehabbed assets will be positioned to provide quality workforce housing to the broad market segment of residents priced out of single-family ownership and Class A apartment rentals in the three metros.

Trevian Capital Founder and Managing Principal Michael Hoffenberg noted his firm is more commonly known for its bridge lending platform in the transitional and value-add multifamily sector to help borrowers execute on this exact strategy “[but] our role in the world of special situations puts us in a unique seat to make strategic multifamily acquisitions ourselves,” he said.

Hoffenberg called the deal “complex” because all three properties were in foreclosure and being managed by a receiver, and a fourth property, also in default, needed to be sold simultaneously.