TODAY’S DEALS: East Harlem Development Site Sells for $13M

New York—A new residential property will rise at the corner of East 121 Street and Third Avenue thanks to a development site sale arranged by Eastern Consolidated. HAP Investment Management picked up the 17,661-square-foot site from Tahl Propp Equities for $13 million. Eastern Consolidated senior director Matthew Sparks represented both sides of the transaction. The site features 100 square feet of linear Third Avenue retail, and is zoned for 91,600 residential buildable square feet.

“There’s huge demand for new residential and retail development in Harlem along the Third Avenue corridor,” says Sparks, who has arranged multiple Harlem real estate transactions, with several others in the pipeline. “The neighborhood has exploded over the past several years, with new rental and condo properties, retail, and other ancillary projects that support the area. This large corner site at East 121 Street is ideal for additional new construction.”

Rondell Homes buys 346-units in suburban Denver

Aurora, Colo.—California-based Rondell Homes has added Winridge Apartments and Townhomes to its portfolio, acquiring the 346-unit asset for roughly $34.7 million. The Aurora, Colo. asset was sold by an international investment advisory firm headquartered in New York. ARA represented the seller.

“Winridge is a great value-add opportunity in Aurora,” says ARA’s Terrance Hunt. “The seller took care of many of the major capital expenses, enabling the buyer to focus on the unit interiors which will really help in pushing rents. The property offers a great family-oriented unit mix with the perk of being located within the Cherry Creek School District and just a few minutes from the Nine Mile light rail station. The buyer intends to own the property for the long-term while capitalizing on the immediate rent growth bump produced by finishing the unit upgrades.”

Built in 1986, the property was 94 percent occupied at the time of sale. Units average 834 square feet, and there are 60 townhome-style units that average 1,026 square feet in size.

Virtus acquires two apartment properties in Dallas

Austin, Texas—Virtus Real Estate Capital, a real estate private equity firm based in Austin, Texas, recently acquired a portfolio of two multifamily housing communities located in Dallas. The properties, Bayou Bend and Pecan Square, totaling 748 units of Class B apartments, were acquired in a strategic joint venture with a local partner and property management company.

Built between 1981 and 1982, Bayou Bend and Pecan Square are located within walking distance of each other in the heart of northwest Dallas. Both apartment communities offer fully upgraded one and two-bedroom floor plans with convenient access to shopping centers, grocery stores, the DART Bus System and Highways I-635 and I-35. Virtus will spend $2.2 million in upgrades to the existing properties beginning immediately.

“These two acquisitions mark the launch of our initiative to acquire well located, multifamily properties marketed to the growing and underserved needs of Hispanic families today,” says Kevin White, director of acquisitions, Virtus Real Estate Capital. “Typically defined by their highly fragmented ownership and operationally intensive nature, these multifamily communities represent excellent investment opportunities for us to leverage our value-add strategies and make better communities.”

Unlike traditional real estate investing firms, Virtus develops its investing strategy emphasizing the role of specific demographic trends that include: the aging and growth of the baby boomer generation; the coming of age of the millennial generation; the growth of the Hispanic population in the United States; and the transitory nature and decreased job tenure of the American worker.

“While Dallas remains a target market for Virtus, we are also evaluating opportunities in other Texas and Oklahoma markets,” says White.