Bell Partners Acquires Its Managed Boston Community

The firm now owns/manages 3,600 apartments in nine communities across the area.

Bell Partners has acquired a 250-unit community located in Shrewsbury, Mass., that has been under its management since 2019. The property, Quinn35, was acquired on behalf of the Bell Value-Add Fund VIII and will be renamed Bell Shrewsbury.

“Bell has managed the property since 2019 and is, therefore, very familiar with both the asset and its location,” Tucker McKee, senior vice president of investments and finance, Bell Partners, told Multi-Housing News. “Bell has identified some value-add opportunities for the property that can be achieved through CapEx and operational enhancements, making the asset attractive for its value-add fund.”

Located at 35 Harrington Ave., Bell Shrewsbury is in the Boston Metro West submarket near Downtown Worcester, UMass Medical Center and the 495/MetroWest corridor.

“The Boston market is characterized by a diversified economy, a well-educated population, higher-income households and relatively constrained supply,” McKee noted.

The community, completed in 2018, is within the Lakeway Commons Lifestyle Center, anchored by Whole Foods. Amenities include a clubhouse and social lounge, 24-hour fitness center, billiard recreation room, dog park, heated pool, detached garages, electric vehicle charging stations and an outdoor lounge.

Investing in strong markets

With this acquisition, Bell Partners owns or manages a portfolio of approximately 3,600 apartment homes in nine apartment communities throughout the Boston-area. Boston is one of the 12 target markets across the US that the company has identified to acquire well-located, quality assets in for its Value-Add Fund.

At the start of the second quarter of 2024, multifamily fundamentals in Boston were stable. Occupancy rates, despite declining on a year-over-year basis, remained above 96 percent. Rent growth also demonstrated a strong market, outperforming national figures on both a trailing three-month basis and a year-over-year basis to $2,086 as of April.

Bell’s other target markets include San Francisco Bay Area, Southern California, Seattle, Austin, Dallas-Fort Worth, Denver, Atlanta, Charlotte/Raleigh, N.C., Fort Lauderdale, Texas, Tampa and Orlando, Fla., and Washington, D.C.

Commenting on the recent state of financing, McKee said credit markets are improving, with borrowing costs down 100 basis points from the last quarter of 2023. “There is also widespread consensus that valuations for multifamily properties have bottomed,” he said.

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