Cortland Lands $192M Refi for 4 Properties in 3 Cities
The transaction comes nearly a week after the firm closed on a $1.6 billion acquisition deal.
Cortland Partners, an Atlanta-based multifamily investor, developer and property manager, has refinanced a four-property, 1,137-unit portfolio of communities in Miami, Denver and Dallas with a $192.1 million Freddie Mac package arranged by Walker & Dunlop Capital Partners.
The largest of the properties in the portfolio is Cortland at the Hammocks I & II, which spans 720 units in Miami. The other properties are Huntington Glenn, a 224-unit asset in Dallas, and Cortland Congress Park, a 193-unit community located in Denver.
Senior Managing Director Stephen Farnsworth led the team that secured the refinancing on behalf of Cortland, a longtime client of Walker & Dunlop’s.
Details on the loans were not disclosed by the firms. However, Yardi Matrix data shows Walker & Dunlop originated a $32.9 million, seven-year Freddie Mac loan for Cortland Congress Park that will mature in October 2032. The firm arranged a $23.8 million seven-year Freddie Mac loan, also maturing in October 2032, for Huntington Glen, according to the same source.
Yardi Matrix reported Cortland assumed the $46.9 million outstanding balance of a 10-year Fannie Mae loan that was due to mature in June 2027 for Cortland at The Hammocks. The firm also assumed the $7.2 million outstanding balance of an eight-year Fannie Mae loan that was also due to mature at the same time for the Miami properties. Both were CMBS loans originated by Arbor Realty Trust, according to Yardi Matrix. Details on the Freddie Mac refinancing for the Florida assets were not available.
The portfolio was appraised by Apprise, Walke & Dunlop’s independent third-party appraisal platform for valuation, data, risk mitigation and advisory services.
Farnsworth said in prepared remarks that Cortland successfully executed a value-add strategy and capital improvement plan at the properties in order to reposition them within their respective markets. The plan included substantial interior and exterior upgrades, refreshed apartment interiors, upgraded amenity spaces and targeted building and site enhancements.
A closer look
Cortland acquired the 296-unit Hammocks Place Apartments from Starwood Capital Group in August 2021 for an undisclosed price. The August purchase was part of a portfolio transaction in which Cortland acquired the single asset entities holding title to 10 properties in Florida, Colorado and Texas, including Huntington Glen and Cortland Congress Park, Yardi Matrix reported.
READ ALSO: Multifamily Market Realigns as Regions Diverge
Nearly two months later, Cortland purchased the 424-unit Lago Paradiso at the Hammock for $98.9 million from Electra America and then merged the two properties, according to Yardi Matrix. The address for the properties, now known as Cortland at the Hammocks I & II, is 1528 SW 104th St. in Miami. They were built between 1986 and 1987 and have an occupancy rate of approximately 94.6 percent.
The community has 34 two- and three-story buildings across 27.43 acres. There is a mix of one-, two- and three-bedroom floorplans ranging in size from 643 to 1,488 square feet, with an average of 826 square feet. Rents range from $1,811 to $3,030, with an average of $2,147, according to Yardi Matrix data.
Apartments feature vaulted ceilings, washers and dryers. Community amenities include a fitness center, clubhouse, tennis/pickleball court, volleyball court, four swimming pools, laundry facilities and 1,107 parking spaces.
The next largest property is Huntington Glen, located at 2900 Harwood Road in Bedford, Texas, a suburb between Dallas and Fort Worth. Built in 1983, the property is 98.2 percent occupied and has 11 two- and three-story buildings spanning approximately 9.2 acres.
The community has a mix of one- and two-bedroom apartments ranging in size from 516 to 1,018 square feet, with an average of 713 square feet. Rents range from $1,235 to $1,799, with an average of $1,441, according to Yardi Matrix data.
The apartments feature washers and dryers in all units, fireplaces in select units and private balconies or patios. Community amenities include a fitness center, volleyball court, swimming pool and 400 parking spaces.
Built in 2006, Cortland Congress Park is located at 910 Colorado Blvd. in Denver and is 99 percent occupied. The property has six buildings measuring out at 3 and a half to 4 stories across nearly 3 acres.
There is a mix of studios, one- and two-bedroom floorplans ranging in size from 656 to 1,538 square feet, with an average of 931 square feet. Rents range from $1,755 to $3,099, with an average of $2,114. Yardi Matrix reports 20 units are affordable with 1,156-square-foot units and select 656-, 720- and 1,202-square-foot units reserved as low-income housing.
The units feature washers and dryers, fireplaces, vaulted ceilings and private balconies or patios. Community amenities include a fitness center, business center, clubhouse, swimming pool and spa. There are 330 parking spaces in a multi-level structure.
Cortland’s other closings
The announcement for the refinancing deal comes nearly a week after Cortland closed on the $1.6 billion all-cash acquisition of a 19-property portfolio in metro Atlanta, Washington, D.C., and the Northern Virgina suburbs from Elme Communities. The transaction for 5,793 multifamily units was announced in August and is part of Bethesda, Md.,-based Elme Communities’ plans to liquidate its assets.
The acquisition is Cortland’s priciest deal and its second large-scale transaction with a publicly traded REIT. In 2019, Cortland became the largest multifamily owner in the Dallas-Fort Worth area after it took Pure Multifamily REIT private in a $1.2 billion deal.
Nearly 75 percent of the assets in the Elme deal – or 15 communities totaling 4,317 units – are concentrated in Northern Virginia. The remainder of the portfolio is in metro Atlanta and Washington, D.C.
Elme, formerly known as WashREIT, also secured a $520 million senior secured term loan from Goldman Sachs Bank USA that was contingent on the Cortland deal closing. The loan has a maturity date of Nov. 9, 2026, with the option to extend for an additional year.
