Successfully Crowdfunding a Repositioned Apartment Asset

By Dees Stribling, Contributing Editor

New York—Fundrise, a crowdsourcing platform that specializes in real estate, has partnered with 306 7th Street LLC to provide $2 million in funding for an apartment repositioning in the Park Slope neighborhood of Brooklyn. The sponsor has hired JBS Project Management to oversee the development.

Fundrise asserted that investors are projected to receive a gross annual return of 11 percent, paid current quarterly over an 18-month term. “Our investors love high-quality multifamily value-add renovations in high-growth markets like Brooklyn,” said Ben Miller, co-founder and CEO of Fundrise.

JBS Project Management specializes in boutique projects, both residential and commercial, in and around New York City. The company has done a number of similar renovations in the area, including another townhouse project only a few blocks away, which has been fully updated and is currently leasing.

Park Slope is a neighborhood that’s been popular among both renters and developers for a good many years. According to the latest MNS Impact Real Estate report, rental rates in the neighborhood remained relatively unchanged during August 2015, with overall monthly average rent increasing by only 0.67 percent since the previous month.

Park Slope has also seen inventory levels increase substantially since August 2014. As such, the yearly change in rental prices saw a more than “normal” decrease, MNS said. For instance, one-bedrooms in the neighborhood averaged $2,808 a month a year ago; in August 2015, they were $2,558 a month.