Churchill Forge Expands San Antonio Footprint

Celeste at La Cantera

Churchill Forge Properties has acquired Celeste at La Cantera, a 300-unit Class A community in San Antonio from USAA Real Estate. Institutional Property Advisors closed the transaction on behalf of the seller.

Completed in 2018, Celeste at La Cantera is a four- and five-story building occupying 6.2 acres at 6107 Via La Cantera. The property has one- to three-bedroom apartments and one penthouse unit. Floorplans range from 558 to 1,906 square feet. Amenities include a swimming pool, a gym, a clubhouse and roughly 450 parking spaces.

The community is next to Brookfield Properties’ 1.2 million-square-foot The Shops at La Cantera, 1 mile from the University of Texas at San Antonio and 15 miles northwest of downtown.

The deal marks the second major Texas acquisition Churchill Forge has closed so far this year. In January, the Boston investor purchased a 320-unit Class A property in Austin, Yardi Matrix shows. State Farm provided $35.8 million in acquisition financing.

Increasing activity

Multifamily investment has picked up in San Antonio this year. Yardi Matrix data shows that nearly 60 transactions totaling nearly $1.2 billion closed year-to-date through July, more than double the volume during the same time in 2020. Development activity has also picked up, with completions this year totaling 3.4 percent of stock, one of the highest rates among major markets. 

The metro’s employment outlook appears to be on the mend, with unemployment falling to 5.3 percent in May, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Although the leisure and hospitality sector will take time to recover, growth in the trade, transportation and utilities sector continues: Last year, Amazon announced it will open three facilities totaling 2.1 million square feet in San Antonio. Two fulfillment centers are expected to open this year, while a $200 billion robotics center is slated for delivery in 2022, Commercial Property Executive reported.