FCP, VaultCap Make Austin Debut
The partnership acquired a 200-unit mixed affordable community on the city's East Side.
FCP and VaultCap Partners have entered the Austin, Texas, market with the purchase of Huntington Meadows, a 200-unit multifamily community. The deal marks FCP and VaultCap’s third purchase together in Texas and FCP’s 18th multifamily investment in the Lone Star State over the last four years.
The sale price and the seller in the off-market transaction were not disclosed. The buyers only noted the deal was sourced through an existing relationship. Wes Racht, Bard Hoover and Nick Fluellen of Marcus & Millichap represented the unidentified seller in the transaction.
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Cole Kellogg, a FCP vice president who leads the firm’s Texas expansion, said in prepared remarks the acquisition allowed FCP to enter the Austin market with a well-located affordable property in a quickly growing submarket with limited supply. Describing the property as a mixed affordable asset, Kellogg said the team’s experience with a large portfolio of affordable and moderate-income properties provided the background to receive approval from the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs to operate Huntington Meadows.
Located at 7000 Decker Lane in East Austin, Huntington Meadows is close to major highways in the region, including I-35, I-183 and I-13 with connections to major employers Tesla, Austin-Bergstrom Airport, NXP Semiconductors and the Decker Lane industrial area. The community is adjacent to the 208-acre Colony Park redevelopment that will eventually have 3,000 homes, grocery-anchored commercial and retail space and a transit center with the potential for a MetroRail station to connect to downtown Austin.
Community amenities at Huntington Meadows, a gated property, includes a fitness center, pool, playground, basketball court and laundry facilities. The apartments have one-, two-, three- and four-bedroom floorplans.
The property was originally built in 1998 as Gardens at Decker Lane with support from low-income housing tax credits. In October 2016, Love Funding provided a $14.1 million refinance loan. The firm secured the financing through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s 223(f) loan insurance program enabling ownership, which at the time included AmeriSouth, to lock in a low fixed-rate for a 35-year term and fund repairs and upgrades.
Previous ventures
The partners previously teamed up on two earlier deals in Texas. In September 2021, VaultCap and FCP, a Chevy Chase, Md.,-based privately held real estate investment company, acquired Prairie Ridge Apartments, a 100-unit community in Grand Prairie, Texas, in an all-cash transaction. AmeriSouth was the former owner of the property, according to Yardi Matrix data. The property is 18 miles west of downtown Dallas and 25 miles of downtown Fort Worth, Texas.
FCP and VaultCap’s first joint purchase in Texas was the July 2021 acquisition of Corey Place Apartments, a 275-unit property adjacent to Prairie Ridge. The partners plan called for merging the assets into one 25-acre community and rebranding the combined property as The Marabella on Pioneer with 375 units across 42 garden-style buildings.
In May, FCP made another Texas purchase, acquiring The Summit, a 284-unit community in San Antonio with partner One Real Estate Investment. The seller was Shippy Properties, according to Yardi Matrix data. The Summit was FCP’s second investment in San Antonio.