Crown Bay Group Grows in Atlanta

Southlake Cove

Crown Bay Group has expanded its Atlanta multifamily portfolio with its first two acquisitions of the new year—the 346-unit Southlake Cove and 108-unit Vineyard Pointe apartment communities.

Both properties are near Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and should benefit from a planned $500 million, 320-acre mixed-use development near the busy airport that could bring more than 5,000 jobs to the region.

Southlake Cove is located at 7509 Jonesboro Road in Jonesboro, Ga., and Vineyard Point is at 8213 Highway 85, off Interstate 85 in Riverdale, Ga. Both are highly accessible locations and Southlake Cove is also just minutes from the Southlake Mall and major big box retailers on Interstate 75.

While the price paid by Crown Bay for the two properties was not released. According to Yardi Matrix, the assets last changed hands in February 2017, when Trinity Real Estate Partners acquired both in a portfolio deal for about $17.9 million from Reliance Global Holdings. The Yardi Matrix data stated Southlake Cove sold two years ago for approximately $13.6 million, or $39,400 per unit.

Crown Bay noted the previous owners spent $4 million on capital improvements at the two properties during 2018. The new owner plans to continue with upgrades to unit interiors, new signage and putting a washer-dryer rental program in place. The units all have hookups for full washers and dryers. Both properties have one- and two-bedroom units and Southlake Cove also has two three-bedroom units. Southlake Cove has a swimming pool and exercise center.

The properties will be managed by Crown Bay Management, a subsidiary of Crown Bay Group.

“We have a strong management team with exceptional local market knowledge. This acquisition is consistent with our value-add strategy and acquisition criteria, and reinforces our portfolio presence in the area,” Steve Firestone, Crown Bay CEO, said in a prepared statement. “This is another great acquisition for our investors. Our focus is on buying at the right price and being able to add further value.”

Market Fundamentals

Crown Bay—which entered the Atlanta market in May 2015 with the purchase of Wynview Apartments, a 138-unit community in Stone Mountain, Ga.—is still bullish about the fundamentals and continued growth of the market as a whole. The firm particularly sees strong demand in the region’s southern submarkets for good quality workforce housing.

“We feel that although the multifamily cycle is potentially peaking, as long as caution is used, seeking out and being disciplined about acquiring only deals that still make financial sense today, then we are still buyers. The market here is still experiencing a high growth period, with its employment growth and increase in population,” Firestone said in prepared remarks.

In May 2018, Crown Bay acquired two communities in the region—The Pines at Greenbriar, a 376-unit property in Atlanta, and Mountain Oaks, a 180-unit property in Stone Mountain, for a total of $27.7 million from Grosella Capital.

The firm has made at least one disposition in the Atlanta area in the past year, selling the 200-unit Flint River Apartment Homes at 240 Flint River Road in Jonesboro to Praxis Capital for $13.1 million in August.

Image courtesy of Yardi Matrix