JV Acquires 2 Houston Communities
Greybrook Realty Partners and Marlin Spring Investments paid $68 million for the garden-style properties in the city's Romano Woods neighborhood.
Lakeview Apartments
A joint venture between Greybrook Realty Partners and Marlin Spring Investments has acquired Lakeview Estate and Lakeview Apartments, two townhouse communities in Houston, for a combined $68 million.
Located at 1699 Romano Park Lane and 16755 Ella Blvd., the properties were constructed between 1992 and 1999, within Houston’s Romano Woods neighborhood. The communities comprise 556 garden-style units situated on 39 acres. Interior features include full size washer/dryers, 9-foot ceilings, large closets, soaking tubs, private balcony/patios, wood flooring and fireplaces. Residents of the townhomes have access to amenities including:
- two clubhouses
- fitness centers
- resort-style pools
- jogging trails
- dog parks
- car care centers
- cyber lounges
The communities provide convenient access to surrounding schools, retail hubs and Northwest Medical Center.
Value-add strategy
“Greybrook has been considering expanding our investment strategy to include value-add projects for a couple of years as we believe there is a unique opportunity to generate great risk-adjusted returns for investors given the changing affordability dynamics in many North American markets and the corresponding need for more suitable rental alternatives,” Sasha Cucuz, CEO of Greybrook Securities Inc., told Multi-Housing News.
Entities jointly owned and controlled by both companies will oversee the implementation of the value-add program, which will include renovating apartments, improving common areas and increasing building efficiencies.
“Macroeconomically, Houston is a growing Southwestern U.S. market that’s been continually diversifying its employment base and in doing so has been growing its demographic of skilled workers. As home values have increased over the years and as lending conditions have tightened since the credit crisis, the affordability of homes has become more and more challenging for first time homebuyers, workforce employees and the millennial population,” added Cucuz. “Overall, we saw in both Lakeview Apartments and Lakeview Estate, the ability to create an exceptional level of rental housing in a cost-effective manner to appeal to the needs of today’s tenant in the Greater Houston area.”
Image courtesy of Marlin Spring Investments
