Lexerd Expands North Carolina Footprint

Ashford Lakes. Image courtesy of Lexerd Capital Management

Lexerd Capital Management has acquired its second community in The Triangle area of North Carolina through the 165-unit multifamily community Ashford Lakes. Like its previous acquisitions, Lexerd has also rebranded the property from Ashford Lakes to The Lory of Hillsborough.

Located at 600 S. Churton St., the property’s units are split across 22 two-story buildings and a one-story community building. Situated on a 21.8-acre site with a private lake, the property offers 178,944 square feet of rentable space. According to Yardi Matrix data, The Lory of Hillsborough was built in 1974 and is 96.4 percent occupied with its tenants paying an average rent of $1,133.

The property is also located roughly 20 minutes away from the Research Triangle area that is home to employers like IBM, Duke University & Health System, GlaxoSmithKline and Blue Cross & Blue Shield of North Carolina.

The Lory of Hillsborough went through a $2 million capital improvement plan that included installing new exterior vinyl siding and roofing, renovating the clubhouse, upgrading the pool and creating a pedestrian bridge over the lake. According to Lexerd, they’re planning to conduct even more improvements like upgrading the countertops and appliances and adding a boat dock and lakeside deck in the next six to 12 months.

Albert Lord III, CEO of Lexerd, said the area around The Lory of Hillsborough had a stable and diverse local economy from the variety of education institutions, high-tech research facilities and manufacturing sector firms. Lord added that he sees the area demand for rental properties remain high while its demand will stay low due to the low cost of living combined with the well-educated population.

A Growing Portfolio

The Lory at Hillsborough is the first acquisition through Lexerd’s High Yield Fund III where they target investment opportunities with a low cost of entry.

However, this is the second acquisition the company has made in The Triangle area that encompasses North Carolina’s Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill neighborhoods. In 2014, Lexerd purchased Foxfire Apartments, a 354-unit apartment community in Durham, N.C.

In August 2018, Lexerd purchased a 160-unit community in Augusta, Ga., that it rebranded into Pinewood at National Hills. According to Lord, Lexerd will continue to look for investment opportunities in the southeast U.S.