RangeWater Sells San Antonio SFR Asset
This property used to be a student housing community.
Cottages at Leon Creek, a former student housing community converted to single-family rental in San Antonio, has changed hands.
Bow River Capital has purchased the asset from RangeWater Real Estate, Yardi Matrix data shows, and Delaware Life Insurance Co. issued a $39.1 million acquisition loan. JLL represented the seller and arranged the financing for the buyer.
RangeWater had purchased the asset in 2021, at the time operating under the name of Aspen Heights. The acquisition landed on the heels of Storia’s launch, the firm’s $800 million build-to-rent platform. In fact, the purchase was the first Storia deal.
Following the acquisition, RangeWater began the conversion of the 284-unit student housing community into a single-family rental property. Completed in 2023, the transformation efforts included unit renovations and improvements to common areas.
Several value-add enhancements are still on the table as well, such as the addition of smart-home technology and carports, as well as the renovation of bathrooms and the refurbishment of green spaces throughout the community.
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Spanning more than 53 acres, Cottages at Leon Creek encompasses detached four-bedroom units, as well as attached two- and three-bedroom homes ranging between 1,520 and 2,400 square feet. The community was 92 percent occupied at the time of sale.
Units feature two-floor layouts, farmhouse-style sinks and granite countertops, among others. The community amenities include a swimming pool, a gym, a pickleball court, private workstations and a cinema.
The property is at 12839 Berthound Lane, roughly 4 miles west of Interstate 10 and some 15 miles northwest of downtown San Antonio. Employers such as Methodist Healthcare System, Security Service Federal Credit Union and the University of Texas at San Antonio operate within 4 miles of Cottages at Leon Creek. An 173-store, open-air shopping center is also less than 4 miles away.
JLL Managing Directors Robert Arzola and Ryan McBride alongside Senior Managing Director Robert Wooten represented the seller. Senior Director Jayme Nelson, together with Senior Managing Directors Brian Carlton and Leon McBroom, oversaw the financing proceedings.
San Antonio’s SFR deals still scarce
At a national level, single-family rental sales have dipped slightly, reaching 2.4 percent of the total multifamily transaction volume year-to-date through June—40 basis points lower than last year’s figure of 2.8 percent, according to a Yardi Matrix report.
San Antonio’s single-family rental sales showed no progress over the year. Cottages at Leon Creek was the only community consisting of more than 50 units to change ownership in the metro year-to-date through July, Yardi Matrix data reveals.
Similarly, during the first seven months of 2023 a single single-family rental community changed hands. A joint venture of The Michaels Organization, Goldman Sachs Asset Management’s Urban Investment Group and Community Development Trust purchased the 200-unit Casa Pointe Villas in a $1.2 billion affordable housing portfolio deal involving 90 assets across eight states.
