CREC Sells Suburban Maryland Property

Orchard Meadows is located in Ellicott City, Md. Image courtesy of CREC Real Estate

Orchard Meadows Apartments, a 240-unit multifamily community in Ellicott City, Md., has been sold, according to majority investor CREC Real Estate. The identity of the buyer could not immediately be learned. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

CREC, a Columbus, Ohio,-based private equity real estate investment firm, acquired the property at 3421 Sonia Trail from Azure Partners for $50.5 million in May 2018 in a joint venture with Morgan Properties. Morgan, a King of Prussia, Pa.-based real estate investment and management company, is the property manager at Orchard Meadows. The May 2018 acquisition was subject to a $40 million 10-year loan funded by Fannie Mae and originated by Berkadia Commercial Mortgage, according to Yardi Matrix data. At the time of the purchase in 2018, it was the seventh joint acquisition in the Mid-Atlantic region between CREC and Morgan.

CREC’s investment in Orchard Meadows was the largest investment made by CREC’s first real estate fund. The sale of Orchard Meadows represented the third sale from the seven real estate investments made by the fund.

Aaron Dixon, CREC president, said in a prepared statement that upscale renovations had been made and the property’s operational performance strengthened since the 2018 deal.

Amenity-focused property

Orchard Meadows was built in two phases, the first of which opened in 1998 and featured 96 two-bedroom garden units. An addition of 144 one- and two-bedroom units, all with nine to 10-foot ceilings, followed in 2012. Select units have been renovated with stainless steel appliances, modern cabinetry, granite countertops, tile backsplash, smart home devices and individual washers and dryers.

The units range from 800 to 1,126 square feet with an average of 1,041 square feet. Rents range from $1,960 to $2,165 with an average of $2,134, according to Yardi Matrix data. Occupancy is about 96 percent, according to the same data.

Community amenities include a swimming pool and an outdoor entertainment area with a TV, foosball and fire pit, as well as a fitness center, business center, clubhouse, outdoor grilling area, playground and dog park. The property has an Amazon HUB packaging locker and a surface lot parking area totaling 208 spaces.

Ellicott City is located in Howard County, the seventh wealthiest county in the U.S., and home to major employers like the Fort George G. Meade Army base, the National Security Agency, U.S. Cyber Command and the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab. The Social Security Administration and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid are also located nearby. Ellicott City’s Historic District features more than 80 shops for a wide variety of dining and retail options, as well as local community events and festivals.

Downtown Columbia, Md., is situated 6 miles from Orchard Meadows and recently received a $1 billion investment to add 4.3 million square feet of new office and 1.25 million square feet of new retail space to the market. Major roadways such as Interstate 70, I-95, US-Route 29 and US-Route 40 connect the region to the broader Baltimore-Washington, D.C., corridor.