WPC Acquires Four Multifamily Properties in DC Area for $67M
By Keith Loria December 21, 2021 5:54 pm
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Washington Property Company is quickly boosting its multifamily portfolio in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, with two separate acquisitions for $66.7 million.
The company acquired an 81-unit portfolio consisting of three low-rise apartment communities near the University of Maryland-College Park for $14 million from the JE Smith Corporation. In a separate deal, WPC acquired The Mark, a 227-unit apartment tower in Alexandria, Va., for $52.7 million.
“WPC seeks flexibility and diversity in portfolio investments,” Quinn Rounsaville, senior vice president of acquisitions for WPC, told Commercial Observer. “Rather than being tied to a specific investment dogma, we prefer to adapt to what we see in our ever-changing marketplace. While both acquisitions are in the multifamily sector, each has a very different profile and fit into our portfolio differently.”
The three properties acquired near UMCP are the 41-unit University Gardens, located at 4620-4626 Knox Road; the 32-unit Columbia Manor, located at 812 College Avenue; and the 32-unit Smith Manor, located at 4604 Knox Road.
All three are situated within Old Town College Park close to the College Park Metro station and within a half mile to the UMCP campus and University Research Park, home to a U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s food safety and nutrition laboratory.
“The buildings in our new College Park portfolio have not been renovated in at least four decades,” Rounsaville said. “These are wonderfully located assets in need of a great deal of investment and asset management. We believe that we can improve and sell these properties in the near term to provide strong risk-adjusted returns for our investors.”
The renovation program will include new flooring, lighting, appliances, and kitchen and bath updates.
The Mark is a different kind of play, said Rounsaville.
“The Mark is a longer-term hold with less value-add capital, since about half of the units were recently renovated, along with common areas and building systems,” Rounsaville said. “This was a unique opportunity to purchase a good building in a great submarket.”
JLL (JLL) arranged financing for the Alexandria acquisition, securing a three-year, floating-rate, non-recourse, bridge loan with one-year extensions through MetLife Investment Management.
Located at 100 S. Reynolds Street, The Mark is half a mile from the upcoming Landmark Mall Redevelopment, which when finished, will consist of a 4.2 million-square-foot mixed-use project anchored by Inova Health System Hospital.
The JLL team representing WPC was led by senior director Jimmy Conley and director Drake Greer.
CBRE (CBRE)’s Bill Roohan, Mike Muldowney and Kemp Broujos represented JE Smith Corporation in its deal, while the firm’s Justin Glasgow represented WPC in procuring financing for the trio of properties from Burke & Herbert Bank.
Requests for comment from the brokers and financial institutions were not immediately returned.
Keith Loria can be reached at Kloria@commercialobserver.com.
