TODAY’S DEALS: Connecticut Apartment Portfolio Fetches $75M, and Other Transactions

By Anuradha Kher, Online News Editor, MHN and Barbra Murray, Contributing Editor, CPNMiddletown, Conn.–Chestnut Hill and Northwoods Apartments, two multifamily communities accounting for an aggregate 650 residences in Middletown, Conn., have just come under new ownership. Entities operating as Northwoods Apartment Associates L.L.C. and Chestnut Apartment Associates L.L.C. took the two Class A properties, located approximately 15 miles south of Hartford, off the hands of Middletown-Oxford L.P. and Connecticut Colony Associates L.P. in a transaction valued at $75 million. Carrying the address of 4 Town Colony Dr., Chestnut Hill features 314 units encompassed in seven three-story structures. The community was developed on nearly 30 acres in 1986. Northwoods occupies approximately 17 acres at 1 Dove Lane, just blocks northwest of Chestnut Hill. Also developed in 1986, the 336-unit complex consists of five three-story structures. Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services represented the sellers and the buyers in the transaction. The luxury apartment properties are in a market with high barriers to entry for new development, and a strong demand that–at the beginning of the year, at least–was spurred in part by strong employment in Hartford and New York City, according to a Marcus & Millichap report. And while the vacancy rate in Hartford has increased a full percentage point since the third quarter of last year, the third quarter vacancy rate of 3.9 percent this year is still well below the national average of 6.4 percent, as per a study by apartment sector research firm AXIOMetrics Inc. The figures put Hartford in the position of the 10th tightest apartment market of 88 MSAs surveyed by AXIOMetrics.Arbor Closes $12,100,000 Fannie Mae DUS Loan  Arbor Commercial Funding LLC recently completed funding of a $12,100,000 loan under the Fannie Mae DUS product line to refinance the 134-unit complex known as Cypress Gates in Marina, Calif.The 10-year loan amortizes on a 30-year schedule and carries a note rate of 6.40 percent.“Arbor was pleased to provide cash-out refinancing in excess of $3 million to a first-time borrower with extensive experience in the market, allowing them to invest in future opportunities,” says Patrick McGovern, director in Arbor’s New York lending office.Multifamily Investor Completes Sale of 97-Unit Property for Undisclosed AmountDenton, Texas—B 35, LLC, a Plano, Texas-based multifamily investor recently completed the sale of another turnaround project in the Dallas area. “The sale amount cannot be disclosed because Texas is a non-disclosure state,” Steve McCrann, president of MB 35, tells MHN.The company recently closed on the sale of their 97 unit Salem Ridge Apartments in Denton, Texas to a local investor group. This is the fourth sale of similar turnaround, repositioning, and renovated multifamily rental properties in the last few years for the company and its investors. The property, located at 501 Londonderry in Denton, was delivered to the purchaser with occupancy of 94 percent and a recently renovated exterior.