Greysteel Facilitates VA Apartment Acquisition

Merrimac Gardens, a 216-unit multifamily property in Portsmouth, Va., has traded hands for an unspecified price. Real estate investment services firm Greysteel facilitated the deal between a private buyer and private seller, with Greysteel Director Rawles Wilcox, investment associates Jared Emery and Brenden Hill and President & CEO Ari Firoozabadi participating.

Built in 1965, Merrimac Gardens is comprised of 27 two-story buildings each containing eight units. The property offers a unit mix of 80 one-bedroom units, 120 two-bedroom units and 16 three-bedroom units.

Units feature hardwood floors or wall-to-wall carpeting, built-in pantries, linen and entry closets, and walk-in closets in some units. Common amenities include a swimming pool, playground, off-street parking and on-site laundry facilities in each building.

Hampton Roads Still a Growth Market

“The purchase of Merrimac Gardens provides the buyer with a stable asset to bolster their growing Hampton Roads holdings,” said Wilcox. “The revitalization of downtown Portsmouth and the region’s strengthening economy proved especially attractive to the property’s new owner.”

Portsmouth is part of the Hampton Roads metro area, which has a concentration of federal facilities, especially those associated with the Navy. The property is a few miles from the Norfolk Naval Shipyard, the Navy Medical Center Portsmouth, and Joint Base Langley-Eustis.

The metro area’s job growth rate for this year is predicted to be 0.4 percent, according to Axiometrics, with 2,813 jobs added. Job growth is expected to average 0.5 percent from 2019 to 2021, with an average of 3,596 jobs added each year.