ECI, ApexOne Launch $500M Multifamily Fund
The fund will acquire multifamily assets in the Sun Belt, Midwest and Mountain West.
ECI Group and ApexOne Investment Partners have launched ApexOne-ECI Multifamily Fund VI, a $500 million fund to acquire, renovate and manage value-add multifamily properties in high-growth markets across the U.S. The partnership will focus on investments in newer-vintage and traditional multifamily assets, including workforce housing communities.
The new investment vehicle will seek assets across the Sun Belt, Midwest and Mountain West regions of the U.S. The fund will execute a diversified growth-and-income strategy through disciplined capital allocation for value-add opportunities.
ECI and ApexOne, a multifamily real estate fund manager, will serve as the fund’s co-general partners. They have committed to investing more than $100 million of the fund’s $500 million total equity capitalization along with investor equity capital. ECI’s capital commitment is in partnership with Almanac Realty Investors, a business unit of Neuberger Berman which has committed up to $350 million to support ECI’s platform expansion.
Almanac made the equity infusion in October 2024, less than a week after ECI had announced a $250 million lending platform with Smith Hill Capital and InterVest. Both events were designed to fuel more than $3 billion in investment and financing growth for ECI.
Value-add acquisition strategy
While the Almanac equity capital is being used for developments as well as purchases and credit investments, the new strategic joint venture between ECI and ApexOne will not be investing in ground-up construction projects.
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The partners plan to take advantage of opportunities they say are being driven by disruption in the multifamily sector. They cited distressed sale conditions, near-term supply and demand imbalances and affordability factors in single-family home ownership for many families. The joint venture also expects to capitalize on undercapitalized and under-managed conditions at many target assets, where ECI will use its track record in multifamily operations to improve occupancy, elevate resident satisfaction and increase marketing efficiencies.
Hitting the ground running
The two firms have acquired or developed approximately 50,000 units and invested more than $7 billion across more than 160 multifamily communities throughout the Sun Belt, Southwest and Midwest regions.
ECI has a portfolio of more than 7,500 units throughout the Southeast and Texas. In February, ECI and joint venture partner Marcus Partners acquired Riverside Parc Apartments, a seven-building, 280-unit garden-style apartment community in Atlanta. The property is approximately 15 years old and the partners plan to make value-add improvements to the community.
Last April, ECI and Almanac purchased Ardmore at Flowers, an 11-building, 396-unit community in Clayton, N.C. It was the first acquisition following Almanac’s capital infusion.
Houston-based ApexOne has sponsored five previous funds focusing on value-add multifamily and student housing, opportunistic investments and development. In November, ApexOne sold two Florida properties totaling 698 units to TerraCap Management. ApexOne had acquired The Napier, a 380-unit property in Daytona Beach, Fla., and West End at City Walk, a 318-unit community in Fort Myers, Fla., in 2021 and 2022, respectively.
