JLL REIT Nabs Luxury St. Paul Community for $66M
The acquisition of The Penfield marks JLL Income Property Trust's third multifamily acquisition this year.
The Penfield marks JLL Income Property Trust’s third multifamily acquisition this year.
Chicago–JLL Income Property Trust, a non-listed perpetual life REIT advised by JLL Group’s LaSalle Investment Management Inc., has acquired a luxury community in downtown St. Paul, Minn., for $65.5 million. The Penfield is a 254-unit, Class A community that includes a ground-floor commercial space leased to local grocer Lunds & Byerlys.
The city of St. Paul sold the community to the REIT after a $62 million renovation that started in 2010, the StarTribune reported. The publication added that the city’s Housing and Redevelopment Authority, a HUD loan and a tax-increment financing district helped fund the redevelopment. The Penfield opened in 2014 and is currently 95 percent occupied.
Downtown St. Paul is the Midwest’s strongest apartment market, home to 2.9 million residents and among the country’s best job climates, according to the JLL release. The market’s unemployment rate is 2.9 percent, ranking first among the top 50 largest metro areas in the U.S. The market also offers recently developed amenities such as the new Green Line light-rail, a concert hall and a minor league baseball park.
“Limited new supply and a submarket apartment vacancy rate of 3.1 percent coupled with The Penfield’s high-quality design, walkable location and access to employment and entertainment amenities make it an attractive addition to our portfolio,” said Allan Swaringen, president & CEO of JLL Income Property Trust.
He added that the acquisition is part of the REIT’s strategy to acquire properties in “strong urban infill locations that appeal to Millennial renters.” More than 30 percent of downtown St. Paul’s population is between 20 and 34 years old.
This acquisition marks JLL Income Property Trust’s third multifamily investment this year, bringing the value of its apartment portfolio to $400 million and making multifamily about 20 percent of the REIT’s overall investment portfolio.
The REIT acquired another multifamily community in August, the ultra-luxury Dylan Point Loma in San Diego, for $90 million.
