PRG Acquires Raleigh Apartment Community

By Dees Stribling, Contributing Editor

Raleigh, N.C.—PRG Real Estate has acquired Clarion Crossing Apartments in southwest Raleigh, N.C. It’s a 260-unit garden-style property; PRG declined to specify the acquisition price.

Dating from 1972, Clarion Crossing has a low-density layout on 26 wooded acres. Philadelphia-based PRG has kicked off a $1.3 million capital improvement program at the property that will run over the next 24 months. The exterior rehabilitation includes new roofs, while the interiors will be refurbished with stainless steel appliances, re-faced cabinets, and full-sized washer/dryers. The plan also includes an update to the property’s fitness center.

Clarion Crossing is about a half-mile from North Carolina State University, which has an enrollment of nearly 35,000. Only about a third of full-time undergraduates live on campus, proving a strong market for other kinds of student housing, according to PRG.

The company is no stranger to the market. The acquisition is less than a quarter mile from another PRG Raleigh property, Lake Johnson Mews, and not much further from four others. According to PRG principal Jon Goodman, the company has experienced success in the market through “properly executed rehab plans.”

Demand has been high for apartments in the Raleigh-Durham market—employment has seen steady growth since the end of the recession—but there’s also a lot of new competition coming on the market. MPF Research estimates that about 8,400 units will be added to the Raleigh-Durham market by the end of this year, adding 6.6 percent to the existing inventory.