Starwood Buys Gaithersburg Multifamily Asset for $204M
By Keith Loria December 22, 2021 2:46 pm
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Grosvenor Americas has sold Sawyer Flats, a 648-unit multifamily building in Gaithersburg, Md., for $204 million, according to public records.
The buyer was Starwood (STWD) Capital through its real estate income trust. The deal closed last month but came out in public records today.
Grosvenor originally acquired the multifamily rental property in 2015 for $87 million, under its Grosvenor Maple Leaf Ventures VIII L.P. investment vehicle.
“Following substantial capital improvements as well as stabilizing the property post pandemic, we felt timing was optimal to capture the value we created through the repositioning of the property,” Michael Beattie, chief investment officer at Grosvenor Americas, told Commercial Observer. “We will now seek to deploy the proceeds into another multifamily property where we can create value for Grosvenor and our investors.”
Located at 9806 Mahogany Drive, the 370,422-square-foot property was built in 1989. Grosvenor led a comprehensive repositioning and rebranding program in 2016 to update unit interiors, landscaping and resident amenities.
Suburban marketplaces across the DMV remain highly desirable, according to recent Grosvenor research, Beattie noted.
“This was only accentuated as a result of pandemic-driven movement within regions,” he said. “Sawyer Flats’ location in a submarket with strong economic drivers is ideal for a multifamily apartment community.”
Under Grosvenor’s environmental, social and governance program, the firm reached an agreement with Montgomery County to also provide various affordable units at Sawyer Flats.
“As owners and developers, we are driven to create value for our investors while improving environments for our residents,” Beattie said. “We are also continuing to add to the quality of our properties and addressing climate change through our net zero commitment.”
Christine Espenshade, a vice chairman of Newmark (NMRK), represented Grosvenor in the deal.
Starwood Capital declined to comment on the deal. Requests to Newmark were not immediately returned.
Update: This story originally misattributed source material. This has been corrected. We apologize for the error.
Keith Loria can be reached at Kloria@commercialobserver.com.
