Dealmaker: Eastern Union Closes $126M in Multifamily, Single-Family Rental Deals
Eastern Union, New York, arranged $126 million for multifamily and single-family rental assets in Georgia and Maryland.
In Roswell, Ga., Eastern Union Senior Managing Director Michael Muller arranged a $71.3-million acquisition bridge loan for The Crest at Riverside, a 396-unit multifamily property at 100 Chattahoochee Circle. MSC Properties, Atlanta, purchased the property.
With a closing price of $87.5 million, the transaction’s loan-to-cost ratio equaled 81 percent. The interest rate was set at LIBOR plus 340 basis points. The three-year non-recourse loan included options for two one-year extensions and repayment is interest-only over its full term. Arbor Realty, New York, funded the loan.
Located about 20 miles north of Atlanta, The Crest at Riverside has a net rentable area of 518,460 square feet.
“National market interest in the greater Atlanta region is being largely propelled by two forces,” Muller said. “First, the area is attracting a significant migration of both businesses and people from northern states. And second, the region has been experiencing strong rental growth, fueled in part by this migration.”
Eastern Union also secured $54.7 million in financing for two portfolios totaling 461 single-family rental units in Baltimore. Managing Director David Merkin arranged the financing for Riparian Capital Partners of Chevy Chase, Md.
Riparian acquired the portfolios in October 2020 and December 2021. The properties are chiefly located in workforce communities in Baltimore, with a focus on renters utilizing Section 8 and similar voucher programs.
Ari Azarbarzin, Senior Director of Cushman & Wakefield’s Capital Markets Group, served as broker for Riparian’s acquisition of both portfolios.
New York-based Roc Capital provided the five-year financing.
The SFR sector is attracting significant interest from investors. CoreLogic, Irvine, Calif., said single-family rent growth reached 10.9 percent year-over-year in October, up dramatically from a 3.2 percent rate a year before. Riparian Capital Partners is one of the few SFR operators focused exclusively on the workforce housing market segment, targeting rents affordable at household income levels between 60 and 100 percent of the area median income.
“Single-family rentals have emerged as one of the fastest-growing asset categories in today’s commercial real estate marketplace,” said Kristoffer Garin, Riparian Capital Partners Principal and CEO. “However, to date, capital allocators in the sector have overwhelmingly focused on higher-end locations and newer properties, making the workforce housing segment a compelling opportunity for operators with the capabilities and resources to capture higher yields while delivering an institutional-grade execution.”
