ECI Group Makes Raleigh-Area Acquisition
The purchase is the first in a $350 million joint venture.
ECI Group has acquired Ardmore at Flowers Apartments, an 11-building, 396-unit community located in Clayton, N.C. The transaction included ECI and Almanac Realty Investors, a division of Neuberger-Berman. The trade signifies the first acquisition since Almanac provided $350 million of capital to ECI to grow its multifamily portfolio.
According to Yardi Matrix, Ardmore Residential was the previous owner.
A purchase price was not disclosed. Following the trade, the community has been rebranded to The Averly at Flowers. The new owner will assume property management responsibilities.
Built last year, The Averly features one-, two- and three-bedroom units with an average rent price of $1,692, according to Yardi Matrix data. The same source shows that the community is 75 percent leased.
Apartments are fit with walk-in closets, washers and dryers, vinyl flooring and modern kitchens, with select units including balconies or patios. Community amenities include an on-site club house, resident lounge, 24-hour fitness center, rooftop sundeck, two swimming pools and a pet spa. Next year, the Averly at Flowers will have an additional 50,000 square feet of green space. Located at 380 Topwater Drive, the property is 13 miles southeast of Raleigh-Durham.
Alex McDermott, Hunter Bowling, Paul Marley, Charlie Gravina and Rhodes Marley of Cushman & Wakefield brokered the sale. CBRE’s Robert LaChapelle and Matt Forgione served as mortgage brokers. Nationwide, represented by Mike Myers and Jacob Kimmell, provided the loan for the purchase.
The Flowers Plantation
The Averly lies within the North Waterfront District of the Flowers Plantation, a 3,000-acre mixed-use project that is currently in the development stage.
Plans for the district date back to 2023, and include more single and multifamily homes, along with walking-accessible dining and retail spaces. The Flowers Planation is located 21 miles from Downtown Raleigh and is approximately 25 minutes from the Research Triangle. Some of its retail and multifamily developments will be coming online throughout this year.
Raleigh-Durham multifamily activity
The Raleigh-Durham metro’s multifamily market remains strong, seeing a flurry of investment and development activity particularly in the single-family rental space. In February, Turnbridge Equities obtained a $51 million construction loan for a 302-unit project in Raleigh. That same month, Pappas Properties announced plans for Crabtree Village, a 65-unit community set to break ground in September.
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At the start of 2025, Raleigh-Durham had 20,272 units under construction, Yardi Matrix reports. Even with this degree of development activity, the market is seeing a decline in rent movement. In the same time frame, average area rents were down 0.6 percent on a three-month basis through December, making its $1,520 below the national average.
