Blackstone Snaps Up Atlanta Multifamily Property for $133M
Goldman Sachs Asset Management was the seller.
By Cathy Cunningham February 13, 2023 5:00 pm
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Despite ongoing market volatility stymying transaction activity, Blackstone (BX) just sealed a peach of a deal.
The investment giant has expanded its ever-growing footprint in Atlanta with the acquisition of Ellington Midtown, a 473-unit multifamily building in Midtown Atlanta, Commercial Observer can first report. The seller was Goldman Sachs (GS) Asset Management.
Blackstone paid $133 million for the property — a discount to replacement cost, sources said — and secured $65.8 million in Freddie Mac (FMCC) financing for the purchase.
“Located in one of the most dynamic submarkets in Atlanta, our purchase of Ellington Midtown illustrates our ability to deploy capital in our high-conviction investment themes even during volatile times,” Asim Hamid, senior managing director at Blackstone Real Estate, said in a statement.
The property is currently 94 percent occupied, but sources said Blackstone now plans to invest several million dollars into renovating its common areas, fitness center, swimming pools and the individual units.
Blackstone is no stranger to Atlanta, and the transaction is the latest of several in the city’s Midtown area. In May last year, the firm bought a majority stake in Anthem Technology Center, CoStar Group reported — the move being pegged as a sign of Blackstone’s conviction in Midtown’s tech corridor.
Its latest purchase at 401 17th St NW, blocks from the junction of Interstates 75 and 85, will benefit from the robust tailwinds behind Atlanta’s multifamily sector. The city is the No. 2 multifamily market for investment in 2023, according to Conti Capital’s Conti Index, with renters being drawn to its deep and diverse job market as well as the strength of the city’s educational establishments. (Dallas took the crown as the No. 1 market this time around.)
Ellington Midtown sits close to the Georgia Institute of Technology, better known as Georgia Tech — a big draw for new tech companies in the city seeking to pull from its deep talent pool. Last year, CNBC reported that top-tier companies such as Apple and Alphabet were opening offices in Atlanta hoping to tap into the tech talent available in the city, especially Black talent. CNBC, citing CBRE research, also noted that Georgia Tech produces the most tech graduates per year in the U.S.
Midtown is also home to other employer heavy hitters — including Microsoft, McKinsey & Company, Wells Fargo and Invesco — and the building is adjacent to Atlantic Station, a mixed-use development comprising office, retail and entertainment.
In January 2022, Blackstone announced it had acquired seven Atlanta housing communities via Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust’s (BREIT) $3.7 billion purchase of Philly-based Resource REIT. Five months later, BREIT announced it had also acquired Preferred Apartment Communities — a REIT focused on Class A multifamily and grocery-anchored retail assets — for $5.8 billion, underscoring its commitment to “high-quality multifamily in key Sun Belt markets.”
Goldman Sachs didn’t immediately return a request for comment.
Cathy Cunningham can be reached at cunningham@commercialobserver.com
