AHIB Seals Vermont Senior Housing Deal

Hawk’s Nest. Image courtesy of AHIB

Affordable Housing Investment Brokerage has closed on a transaction to acquire a three-property, 191-unit senior housing portfolio in Vermont.

Located in the greater Burlington area, the properties in the portfolio are Hawk’s Nest in Saint Albans, Vt., and Falcon Manor and Eagle Crest in Williston, Vt. Independent seniors reside in these communities, all of which were developed under the Section 42 Low Income Housing Tax Credit program. Kyle Shoemaker, managing director of AHIB, represented both the local development company seller, as well as the buyer, a Chicago-based national investor and developer expanding into new territories.

Prime hurdles

“The primary challenge was finding a buyer with the right qualifications to do a large, specialized deal like this in Vermont,” Shoemaker told Multi-Housing News. “The LIHTC program has management intricacies that lead to the properties not being right for every multifamily manager, and Vermont is a fairly insulated market. There are few candidates who are well capitalized to do a deal of this size, and who also know the LIHTC program and are interested in the Vermont market. The purchase price could not immediately be learned.

The extensive specialized brokerage experience AHIB has acquired enabled the company to work through these hurdles, Shoemaker added. “Our primary focus is identifying qualified buyers of affordable housing and developing relationships with them that allow us to see uniquely beneficial opportunities [for] our clients,” he said. “The buyer of this deal is a growing, national, Chicago-based owner and developer who we have transacted with several times, dating back to 2007. That long-standing relationship put us in a position to bring one of the best affordable housing buyers in the country to our seller, leading to the successful execution of our assignment to sell a unique asset.”

Below maximums

The three properties comprising the portfolio offer one- and two-bedroom apartments, with most units incorporating patios or balconies. Large community rooms with fireplaces are among leading common-area amenities of the three properties.

In a prepared statement, AHIB observed Burlington is a growing community of 45,000 residents, and the Burlington Senior portfolio is well-positioned to continue as the community’s leading option for affordable independent senior housing. Two months ago, Clearwater Living acquired a Phoenix-area senior living portfolio.