AndMark Expands Columbus Footprint

Ashley Village. Image courtesy of Newmark Knight Frank

AndMark Investment Fund has acquired a three-property portfolio in Columbus, Ohio for $43.6 million. NKF, who represented the seller Monument Real Estate Services, also secured a $34.8 million Freddie Mac acquisition loan for AndMark. 

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The three Columbus properties were all built in 1987 and are neighboring gated communities with garages and units with patio/balcony and in-unit washer/dryer. According to Yardi Matrix data, the 194-unit Abbington Village Apartments is located at 988 Muirwood Drive. The community has an occupancy rate of 96.9 percent and offers one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments with an average rent of $967, according to Yardi Matrix data.

Right next to Abbington, Chatham Village at 2315 Muirwood Drive offers 136 units through one- and two-bed units with an average rent of $869, according to Yardi Matrix data. Nearby the two, the Ashley Village Apartment Community offers 220 units through two-, three- and four-bedroom units with an average rent of $963, Yardi Matrix data shows. Located at 2272 Sunshine Place, the property has a 95.9 percent occupancy rate. 

Luis Velez, AndMark’s executive vice president, said that the properties were well-maintained, but that they will look at improving the properties for bigger returns. George Skaff, NKF’s executive managing director, led the sale while Purvesh Gosalia, NKF managing director, led the fixed acquisition financing. The competition was stiff according to Skaff, who said the portfolio saw 18 tours and received 11 offers.

COLUMBUS COMEUP

Skaff said that Columbus has many strong fundamentals, making it a “go-to market” for investors. He explained that the area has seen population growth between 20,000 and 25,000 each year, but the development pipeline is only delivering 2,500 to 3,500 units a year. Skaff added that the demand from the population growth would eventually outpace the slow supply.

“This is a great story for the future of rent growth in Columbus because demand would simply outweigh supply in this scenario,” Skaff told Multi-Housing News, adding that Columbus has a diverse workforce. “This gives investors the comfort that an economic downturn will be less impactful in a market with such diversity.”

In the last few years, Skaff told MHN that Columbus has grown from a “strictly private capital investment market to a market who has drawn capital and major investment from some of the countries largest institutions.”