Bell Partners Touches Down in Desirable Metro Boston

By Andie Lowenstein, Associate Editor

Greensboro, N.C.—An apartment investment and management company acquired a community in a highly desirable suburb of Boston.

Bell Partners Inc. announced on behalf of its investors that it acquired Applebriar Apartments, a 164-unit garden-style community in Marlborough, about four miles from Bell Wheeler Hill. The community was renamed Bell Marlborough and will be managed by Bell Partners. It was nearly 90 percent occupied at the time of sale.

Initially developed as for-sale condos by MetLife in 1989, Bell Marlborough includes 164 apartments in 14 three-story buildings. The apartment homes are a mix of one- and two-bedroom units and two-bedroom townhomes. Forty-one of the one-bedroom units and all of the two-bedroom units contain dens.

Due to originally being designed as condominiums, floor plans are spacious, and 75 percent of the units provide attached garages. All but 19 units have been renovated with new kitchen cabinets and new stainless steel and black appliances, and 96 units have granite countertops. Property amenities feature a stand-alone two-story clubhouse with a fitness center, coffee bar, club room with pool table and a kitchen area. The property also has an outdoor pool with a sundeck and gas grills, and a separate business center building.

“We are pleased to add Bell Marlborough to our growing portfolio in Boston,” said Nickolay Bochilo, senior vice president of investments. “This acquisition is well aligned with the Bell Partners investment strategy of purchasing well located apartment communities in our target markets. We see an opportunity to enhance the value of this community by completing renovations of units that contain original finishes, making improvements to the common area amenities and improving operating efficiencies resulting from our scale in the Boston market.”

The purchase of Bell Marlborough was the fifth multifamily acquisition for Bell Partners in 2015. This transaction completes more than $414 million in apartment acquisitions for the company this year. In 2014, Bell completed more than $2.6 billion in total apartment transactions.