TODAY’S DEALS: Resource Real Estate Acquires Plano Apartment Asset

Plano, Texas—Resource Real Estate Opportunity REIT Inc., a non-traded REIT sponsored by Resource Real Estate Inc., has picked up a 142-unit community in Plano, Texas. The asset features one-, two- and three-bedroom units as well as townhome options. Amenities include a swimming pool, private back yards, a dog park, basketball, tennis and volleyball courts and access to a walking trail.

“We’re excited to add to our significant presence in Texas, a state that continues to lead the nation in job creation,” says Kevin Finkel, executive vice president of Resource Real Estate. “On the same day we closed on the property, Toyota announced that it will move its national headquarters to Plano, after being in the Los Angeles suburbs for the past 50 years. Toyota plans to create a campus that will bring together 4,000 employees from manufacturing, sales, marketing and corporate operations from around the country.”

The REIT has plans for a capital improvement campaign that will target individual and common area upgrades, as well as exterior improvements and a renovated leasing center. The firm’s own property management team will also be brought in for day to day operations.

Cushman & Wakefield arranges $19.6M in acquisition capital for LCB Senior Living

Boston—As exclusive advisor to LCB Senior Living LLC, Cushman & Wakefield Senior Housing Capital Markets, a division within Cushman & Wakefield Equity, Debt & Structured Finance, has arranged $19.6 million of senior financing and joint venture equity capital for LCB’s acquisition of a seniors housing facility located in Reading, Mass. Of the loan amount, $13.5 million of acquisition financing was provided by M&T Bank while the joint venture equity was provided by Virtus Real Estate Capital.

The acquired property, formerly known as Longwood at Reading, is an 86-unit assisted living community situated in a former school building that was converted into senior housing in 1997 by the previous owner.  Upon taking ownership, LCB will convert units on the first floor of the building from assisted living units to memory care units, and will also continue to rehabilitate the historic building. Consistent with the brand of the company’s portfolio of properties, LCB will rebrand the community The Residence at Pearl Street.

LCB Senior Living is a senior housing owner/operator consisting of the former management team of Newton Senior Living, which was the 16th-largest assisted living company in the nation at the time of its sale to Lazard Freres in 2005. LCB is developing and acquiring a robust portfolio of seniors housing communities in the New England market. The acquisition of Longwood at Reading marks LCB’s third property acquisition since recapitalizing its company in 2013, and additionally has broken ground on four property developments. All of its developments and acquisitions have been in the New England market.

The Cushman and Wakefield team involved in this transaction included Executive Managing Director Richard Swartz, Managing Director Jay Wagner, Director Aaron Rosenzweig and Associate Stuart Kim.

“LCB’s partnership with Virtus Real Estate is a textbook collaboration of a knowledgeable senior housing investor and an astute regional operator which we expect to result in significant additional investment activity over time,” notes Swartz. Adds Rosenzweig, “the track record of LCB as a first-class developer/operator combined with the planned rehabilitation of the historic building make this transaction a true value-add opportunity.”

IPA sells 60-unit community in California

Culver City, Calif.—Institutional Property Advisors has arranged the sale of Keswick Court Apartments, a 60-unit community located in Culver City, Calif. IPA Executive Director Greg Harris, along with IPA Directors Kevin Green and Joseph Grabiec, advised the seller, MWest. Marcus & Millichap vice president investments Matt Ziegler advised the buyer, a local family owner/operator who purchased the property as the upleg in a 1031 exchange.

“Keswick Court Apartments is a sizeable non-rent-controlled asset in a market where there is demand for luxury apartment homes, a significant affordability gap to home ownership, and a scarcity of new supply,” says Harris. “The property received extensive exterior and structural/mechanical systems upgrades from 2011 to 2012 and additional revenue-generating improvement opportunities exist, allowing the new owner to modernize while maintaining insulation from the rents of more recently constructed apartment homes.”

Built in 1957, the apartment community is located at 3902 Lenawee Ave. near high-end restaurants and retail in downtown Culver City, Calif. Employment centers in Century City, downtown Los Angeles, South Bay and Westside Los Angeles are nearby. A stop on the newly opened Expo Metro line that connects Culver City to all of Los Angeles is just two miles away.

Community amenities at Keswick Court include a swimming pool, an outdoor barbecue and lounge area, landscaped interior courtyards, laundry facilities and gated/covered parking.