Eastern Union Arranges $28M Loan for Purchase of Connecticut Multifamily Portfolio

2209 Main Street. Image courtesy of Yardi Matrix

Eastern Union has closed on a $28.1 million loan backing the purchase of a multifamily portfolio in Bridgeport, Conn.

The buyer of the $39.6 million 13-property portfolio, which comprises 437 residential units, was not disclosed. However, the pre-sale owner of the assets is listed by Yardi Matrix as Rhodium Capital Advisors.

In total, the acquisition financing, provided by KeyBank, consists of three individual loans of $11.8 million, $9.3 million and $6.9 million. The loans, to be repaid in interest-only payments, are subject to a ten-year rate of 5.25 percent, with a 30-year amortization period.

The Bridgeport portfolio’s profile

Rhodium purchased the entire portfolio in 2017 for $30.5 million in a partnership with Firm Capital Organization. The assets were acquired from Empire Residential, according to Yardi Matrix data. Eastern Union Funding procured a similarly structured loan for the purchase. Alongside the acquisition, the firm invested $2.6 million in a mix of capital improvements and unit modernizations.

The properties in the portfolio are located within two miles of central Bridgeport, with clusters situated in the city’s East Side, West Side, Brooklawn and Mill Hill districts. Their close proximity to the city center gives them quick access to the city’s commercial offerings, historic sites and flagship research university. Downtown New Haven is 17 miles away.

On the East Side, the portfolio includes:

• 2209-2250 Main St., the portfolio’s largest property, a 179-unit affordable community constructed in 1932. According to Yardi Matrix information, the property is sectioned into studio and one-bedroom living arrangements ranging between 400 and 500 square feet featuring hardwood floors and built-in broadband access. Rhodium Capital Advisors acquired the property in 2017 for $10 million, with a $12.25 million loan, the same source shows. Prior to that sale, the asset community was in the hands of private owners
• 1465 E Main St., a three-floor, 46-unit community located along on one of the East Side’s business corridors
• 299 Berkshire Ave., a 24-unit community located adjacent to Main Street
• Anchor Point Apartments, an 18-unit community located at 644-654 Park St.

The portfolio’s Mill Hill-area portion consists of:

• Putnam Square, an 18-unit community with enclosed on-site parking located at 340 Putnam St.
• 85 Price St., a 17-unit property
• The Barnum Building, a 17-unit building located at 1590 Barnum Ave.
• 30 and 80 Granfield Ave. two buildings that respectively comprise 15 and 17 units

The West Side communities are:

• Two 15-unit communities located at 850 and 1054 Hancock Ave.
• Atlantic Arms Apartments, a 28-unit property located at 1575 Iranistan Ave.

In Brooklawn, the portfolio has one property, Apartments at Bridgeport, a 28-unit garden-style apartment community located at 898-930 Norman St.

Eastern Union Managing Director Motti Blau, Senior Loan Consultants Mendy Pfeifer and Hershy Fried secured the financing on behalf of the buyer. Dov Bakon, a mortgage underwriter at the firm, provided the related services.

Connecticut portfolio sales

The coastal regions of the Constitution State have seen much recent investment in market rate multifamily portfolios, in part due to demographic changes and thier existence as a more affordable market in comparison to other, similarly situated regions in New England. Recent markers of this trend are Hamilton Zanze’s sale of a two-property, 518-unit portfolio in Middletown, alongside Elm LLC’s acquisition of a six-community, 145-unit collection of properties in New Haven.