Chozick Realty Brokers 96-Unit Student-Oriented Community Near UConn
Chozick Realty announced that it has brokered the sale of the 96-unit Orchard Acres Apartments community located near the University of Connecticut in Storrs, Conn.
By Joshua Ayers, Senior Editor
Mansfield, Conn.—Chozick Realty, which has offices in Hartford, Conn., and Delray Beach, Fla., announced that it has brokered the sale of the 96-unit Orchard Acres Apartments community located near the University of Connecticut in Storrs, Conn.
The student-oriented community traded hands for $5.85 million and it is the eighth student apartment community near UConn that Chozick Realty has brokered in the past 15 months. The community is currently 100 percent leased.
Chozick Realty President Rick Chozick and Broker Tom Boyle arranged the transaction and advised the seller, 157-35 OAP Holding LLC, and procured the buyer, Orchard Acres Apartments LLC.
157-35 OAP Holding LLC is an entity controlled by special servicer CW Capital Asset Management, a subsidiary of CW Financial Services. The buyer, Orchard Acres Apartments LLC, is a regional owner of both conventional and student apartment communities, according to Chozick.
“The new owner is actively involved with the management and operations of all of [its] properties as a hands-on manager and operator,” Chozick tells MHN.
The dual-site community includes Orchard Acres I, which is comprised of 88 units and is located at 45 Cheney Drive in Storrs just below the UConn Hilltop Dormitory and adjacent to the southwest corner of the campus. Orchard Acres II contains eight units and is located a mile away from campus.
All units are one-bedroom in size and are spread across 24 four-plex buildings. Additional community features include a basketball court, patio, barbecue area, bicycle racks and additional storage.
Chozick says that the new owner has plans to remodel the unit interiors, specifically the kitchens and heating systems, while adding new windows and creating a new laundry facility and onsite office.
The timing is right for investment near UConn as the State of Connecticut recently approved the $1.5 billion “Next Generation Connecticut Initiative” that aims to expand educational opportunities through the hiring of new faculty and enhancement of research, science, technology, engineering and math programs over the next decade.
“The State continues to invest heavily in the University of Connecticut,” Chozick says. “Over the next 10 years it will grow its student body, hire additional faculty and build facilities for the science fields.”
UConn’s current undergraduate enrollment total for its main campus is 17,528 with another 4,773 students attending at regional campuses. Graduate and Professional enrollment figures for the university are just shy of 8,000 students. The university is slated to increase its student body by 30 percent and create 259 new faculty positions over 10 years through the initiative.
“The State’s strong commitment to the continued growth of this world class university will only further strengthen the student housing sector at UConn,” Chozick says.
