DSF Group Acquires Metro DC Community for $237M

In one of the largest multifamily deals in Alexandria, Va., Boston-based DSF Group has acquired Town Square at Mark Center, a 678-unit apartment and townhouse community in Northern Virginia. The company purchased the property for $237 million, or $347 per square foot.

The deal was the second largest multifamily sale in metro Washington, D.C., last year and the third-largest single-asset multifamily transaction ever in Alexandria, Real Estate Alert reported.

The most recent owner of the property was Equity Residential, which had purchased the community in May 2006 for $177 million, or $259 per square foot, according to Yardi Matrix data.

IPA Capital Markets, a division of Marcus & Millichap, arranged $165.9 million in Freddie Mac financing from M&T Bank, also known as Manufacturers and Traders Trust Co., Yardi Matrix reported. The loan had a 70 percent loan-to-value with a 35-year amortization, according to IPA. The firm mitigated interest rate risk by executing an early rate lock with a Treasury yield approximately 15 basis points below its peak, the firm stated.

IPA Capital Markets and Marcus & Millichap executives working on the deal included Senior Managing Director Cameron Chalfant, Executive Managing Director Brian Eisendrath, both of IPA Capital Markets, and Evan Denner, executive vice president and head of business, Marcus & Millichap Capital Corp.

Property highlights

Located at 1459 N. Beauregard St., the property was 99 percent occupied at the time of the sale. It was built in two phases with the first delivering in 1996 and the second phase completing in 2001.

Town Square at Mark Center features 25 three- and four-story buildings on 24.27 acres. The community has one-, two- and three-bedroom floorplans ranging in size from 707 square feet to 1,257 square feet with an average of 1,008 square feet. Rents range from $1,883 to $3,001 with an average of $2,366, according to Yardi Matrix data.

The property has washers and dryers and private balconies or patios in all units and fireplaces in select residences. Direct-access garages are available in some units.

Community amenities include two swimming pools and spas, a clubhouse, fitness center, volleyball and basketball courts. The property has a total of 1,084 parking spaces with covered parking available.

DSF Group activity

The Alexandria purchase was not DSF Group’s only Northern Virginia purchase within the last few months. In August, the firm acquired Woodway at Trinity Centre, a 504-unit property in Centreville, Va., for $150 million from Harbor Group International. It has been rebranded as Halstead Centreville.

Two years earlier, DSF Group sold Halstead Station, a 408-unit luxury community in New Rochelle, N.Y., for $200 million to Khosla Capital in a preferred equity venture with Pacific Urban Investors. DSF Group had owned the property at 255 Huguenot St. since 2016, when it acquired the asset from Hartz Mountain Industries for $148.5 million.

Also in 2022, DSF Group acquired a 212-unit luxury Parsippany, N.J., community for $82.5 million from Harbor Group International and sold Halstead Framingham, a 1,020-unit property near Boston to a joint venture of Taurus Investment Holdings and Kayne Anderson Real Estate.