PA, NJ Portfolio Commands $34M

By Keith Loria

Orchard Drive Apartments

A private investor acquired both Presidential Court Apartments in Runnemede, N.J., and Orchard Drive Apartments in Whitehall, Pa., for a combined $33.8 million.

Located at 918 E Clements Bridge Road, Presidential Court Apartments consists of a mix of one- and two-bedroom layouts throughout a 268-unit garden-apartment community. Presidential Associates was the seller and the investor purchased this property under the entity, TNJ Properties LLC.

Located at 1239 Washington St., Orchard Drive Apartments consists of 264 one- and two-bedroom units, ranging from 782 to 1,013 square feet. Orchard Drive Associates sold the property for $18.3 million.

Value-Add Potential

Gebroe-Hammer Associates represented all parties in the transaction.  

“The properties appealed to the buyer because they presented significant value-add and repositioning potential,” Adam Zweibel, Gebroe-Hammer Associates’ vice president, told MHN. “At the time of sale, the buyer had plans to implement capital improvements that will modernize and reposition each of the properties over the long-term.”

Both developments were originally constructed in the ’60s, and have been owned by the same party for more than 40 years. Each property also features on-site community amenities including off-street parking, laundry facilities and professionally landscaped courtyards and playgrounds.

“The Lehigh Valley and Philadelphia/South Jersey submarkets are among the region’s top MSAs where millennial-aged/executive-level tenant demand continues to trend upward and is expected to do so for quite some time,” he said. “Strategically situated within two rapidly growing suburban, bedroom-community submarkets, the properties are easily accessible to transit, shopping, schools and thriving employment centers along the Allentown/Bethlehem/Easton, Pa., and Trenton/Philadelphia corridors.”

Orchard Drive Apartments is nearby some of the area’s leading employers, including the Lehigh Valley and St. Luke’s Hospital and Health Networks, Amazon.com, Air Products and Chemicals and the American headquarters for Olympus Corporation.

A White-Hot Market

According to Zweibel, Whitehall is considered the fastest growing and third most-populous region in Pennsylvania behind Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.

“Whitehall Township also has some of the most expensive real estate in the state and an architectural landscape where approximately one-third of the buildings are small-to-large apartment complexes,” he said.

Meanwhile, Runnemede is part of the Camden West submarket, which Zweibel called, “white hot” right now.

The Gebroe-Hammer Associates team also included Executive Vice President David Jarvis.