Maryland Apartments Sold for $63M With Plans to Redesignate Most Units as Affordable

Suburban Maryland has seen much multifamily investment activity lately, and not just for market rate or luxury units.

Rockville-based Donaldson Impact Investments and the nonprofit Affordable Homes & Communities (AHC) have acquired the 312-unit Country Place Apartments in Burtonsville, Md., for $63 million, the buyer announced. Donaldson and AHC plan to designate 172 of the units as affordable housing, with 164 of those units restricted for tenants earning up to 60 percent of the area median income, and eight units for tenants earning up to 50 percent of the area median income. 

“This acquisition is a strategic long-term investment for our company and aligns perfectly with our mission to acquire and preserve mature, naturally occurring affordable housing,” Kevin H. Smith, co-founder and managing partner of Donaldson Impact Investments, said in a statement. Naturally occurring affordable housing properties, or NOAH, are affordable units not subsidized by government programs.

Cushman & Wakefield (CWK) represented seller Polinger Company in the deal, and secured a $40.7 million Freddie Mac (FMCC) loan tied to the property. New York Life and investment firm Declaration Partners also provided over $20 million in market-rate equity, according to Donaldson and AHC.

“Economic opportunity cannot exist without safe and affordable housing,” added Kevin M. Smith, managing director, transactions at New York Life Real Estate Investors. 

Several other affordable housing projects in the suburban region north of Washington, D.C., have landed financing packages in recent months. In September, Los Angeles-based MRK Partners secured a $37.7 million Freddie Mac loan and a $21.3 million equity bridge loan from Merchants Bank toward Amber Commons, a 198-unit property in Gaithersburg. MRK plans to fully convert the building from market-rate to affordable units. 

That same month, meanwhile, the Housing Opportunities Commission of Montgomery County, together with partners the Duffie Company and PS Ventures, secured over $303 million in public and private funding toward Hillandale Gateway, a 463-unit mixed-use complex that’s part of the 3,000-acre White Oak Science Gateway Master Plan. About 54 percent of Hillandale Gateway will be designated as affordable housing once the complex is completed in 2027. 

Nick Trombola can be reached at ntrombola@commercialobserver.com.