Lendlease Sheds Vast U.S. Military Housing Portfolio for $323M
By Nick Trombola July 8, 2024 12:33 pm
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Lendlease, the Australian development firm behind major U.S. projects like the National September 11 Memorial & Museum and Central Park Tower, has found a buyer for its U.S. military housing portfolio as it works to divest itself of most of its international holdings.
The company has sold its vast portfolio of more than 40,000 multifamily units to an affiliate of Guggenheim Partners for 480 million Australian dollars, or $323.4 million, according to Bisnow, which first reported the news.
The portfolio encompasses properties across 24 states, including California and Florida, as well as Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico. The sale to Guggenheim is expected to close in early 2025, pending approval from the Department of Defense, which manages military housing policy. Private-sector companies own nearly all of the homes at military installations, according to the U.S. Government Accountability Office.
“Lendlease and Guggenheim have a longstanding relationship,” Claire Johnston, Lendlease’s U.S. CEO, told Commercial Observer via an emailed statement. “We have worked with Guggenheim on many financings across many of our projects and more recently we have partnered with them on the partial sale of the Military Housing Asset Management fee stream. We know their culture and commitment to excellence is aligned with Lendlease and that it will provide a great home for our people.”
A representative for Guggenheim did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Lendlease is in the midst of shedding its American assets after nearly 45 years of operating in the U.S. as it seeks to refocus on its native Australia.
Consigli Building Group in late May acquired the company’s New York and New Jersey operations in a deal that includes all of Lendlease’s employees in those markets and up to 45 projects currently in the pipeline. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Lendlease also plans to exit the U.K. market and “recycle” $4.5 billion back to its Australian operations.
In hindsight, Lendlease had signaled its departure plans over the past year: The company in November announced it had reached an agreement with Google to terminate a $15 billion deal to build thousands of homes, offices and retail space in Silicon Valley in Northern California.
Nick Trombola can be reached at NTrombola@commercialobserver.com.
