Bell Partners Expands North Carolina Footprint

Bell Chapel Hill. Image courtesy of Bell Partners

Bell Partners has added the 272-unit The Elliott to its multifamily portfolio. The project is located in Chapel Hill, N.C. The community—which brings the company’s total number of managed North Carolina properties to 85—was acquired on behalf of the firm’s Bell Core Fund I investors. Bell Partners will rebrand the property as Bell Chapel Hill.

Located at 1300 Fordham Blvd., the property features studio, one- and two-bedroom layouts. Trendy community amenities include bike storage, package lockers, a yoga and Pilates space with towel service, a coworking lounge with Wi-Fi, a swimming pool with a sun deck and an outdoor pavilion with a firepit.

The community is within Chapel Hill’s Blue Hill District, a walkable area known for its suburban-style shopping centers. The project holds a National Green Building Standard certification and sits adjacent to Booker Creek Basin Park, an urban green space designed to minimize area flooding, developed by Ram Realty Advisors and the town of Chapel Hill.

Prime location

Bell Chapel Hill is just 2 miles from Interstate 40, which connects to the Piedmont Triad, Raleigh-Durham and other metro areas. The project is within walking distance from Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s, as well as dining and retail offerings at nearby shopping centers. 

Bell Chapel Hill. Image courtesy of Ram Realty Advisors

“Bell relied on its relationships and deep local knowledge to acquire the property,” Nickolay Bochilo, executive vice president of investments at Bell Partners, told Multi-Housing News.

According to Bochilo, the property was more than 90 percent occupied at the time of closing. He called the occupancy rate “a testament to the desirability of the location and the product.”

The community benefits from its close proximity to the Research Triangle area, where major tech and life sciences firms have a strong presence.

Google is building a new engineering hub in Durham, while Apple has plans for a new campus in The Triangle. Major employers in the area include Duke University, IBM, Microsoft and Cisco Systems.

NorthMarq represented Ram Realty in the transaction.

Last month, Bell Partners added CityLine Park, a Dallas-area community, to its portfolio. CityLine Park in Richardson, Texas, comprises 435 units and was completed in 2019. The development was also acquired on behalf of the firm’s Bell Core Fund I investors.