Berkadia Arranges 366-Unit Sale

Lake Charles, La.–West M Apartments, a multifamily community in metropolitan Lake Charles, La. has been sold by Atlanta, Ga.-based Cortland Partners to Des Moines, Ia.-headquartered BH Management. The 366-unit property was 93 percent occupied at the time of sale. The transaction was facilitated by New York City-based Berkadia.

Berkadia’s Senior Managing Director Ryan Epstein, Managing Director Gregg Cordaro and Associate Director Wes Breeding, along with the company’s Houston-Louisiana-based investment team, arranged the sale.

Situated at 1330 W. McNeese Street in Lake Charles, West M Apartments provides one-two- and three-bedroom homes with an array of upscale features.

They include loft-style floor plans, patios and balconies, granite countertops, and in-unit washers and dryers. Among the community’s common-area amenities are a 24-hour fitness center, clubhouse, resort-style pool with cabanas and sundecks, courtyard, Internet café, media room, outdoor kitchen and fireplace.

“Berkadia was selected because we have on-the-ground experience with Gregg Cordaro in Louisiana, and because of my institutional relationships, which enabled us to bring new capital to this market,” Epstein told MHN.

Cordaro observed that West M represents a “Best in Class,” highly rated apartment community that benefits from an excellent Lake Charles location. The city of Lake Charles stands at the brink of enormous economic growth that will likely flow from development projects. It is also poised for substantial rent increases, he said.

A hotbed of growth in the chemical, petrochemical and other industries, the Lake Charles metropolitan area was recently termed by New Geography one of the best cities for employment expansion. Currently, more than $43 billion in new projects are under construction, according to the Southwest Louisiana Economic Development Alliance. An additional $58 billion worth of fresh developments are in the pipeline.

This expansion is anticipated to spark significant population growth, as it delivers more than 25,000 new construction jobs and 20,00 permanent jobs to the region.

The size of the transaction made it challenging, as it was one of the largest multifamily sales in the state, Epstein said. “We attracted new capital by educating them on the positive outlook of this market,” he reported. “The long-term growth that Lake Charles will sustain makes this a great investment for long-term value appreciation.”