TODAY’S DEALS: Variant Buys 3,709-Unit Portfolio in Receivership Sale

Lo Jolla, Calif.—Private investment company Variant Commercial Real Estate has acquired a 14-property multifamily portfolio comprised of 3,709 units in six states—Texas, Nevada, Maryland, Virginia, South Carolina and Florida. The properties were originally owned by Babcock & Brown Ltd., but were placed into voluntary administration in 2009 until creditors voted to liquidate the company. The portfolio has been managed by the receiver, McKinley Co., since August 2011. McKinley Co. will stay in place as the manager for Variant. CBRE Group Inc. brokered the sale.

“We have been tracking this deal for a long time,” says Matt Hawkins, president of Variant. “This portfolio has tremendous upside potential, and our team is looking forward to executing our business plan now that the deal has closed.”

The transaction falls in line with Variant’s strategy of buying assets at a discounted price and executing a high-touch management strategy to ensure high cash yield assets. Variant’s specific plans include capitalizing common areas, grounds and building interiors to improve the living experience for residents.

CBRE New England sells two Boston assets

Boston—CBRE/New England Multi-Housing Group’s Capital Markets team has sold The Beacon Hill Portfolio, a 16-unit apartment portfolio comprised of 24 Joy Street and 88 West Cedar Street in Boston’s Beacon Hill neighborhood. Beacon Hill Apts., a private partnership led by Luzern Associates LLC, sold the portfolio to an affiliate of The Copley Group.

Both buildings were built in the late 1800s and have undergone extensive unit renovations and common area upgrades. The unit mix is comprised of six studios apartments, three one-bedroom units, six two-bedroom units and one ground floor commercial suite. Both assets have achieved double-digit rent growth over the past 12 months.

ARA Dallas announces sale of Class A property in top city

Dallas—ARA announced the sale of Broadstone Stonebriar, a 208-unit multifamily asset located minutes away from Frisco’s influential business parks and the well-renowned Stonebriar Centre. The Dallas-based team of Brian O’Boyle, Sr., Brian O’Boyle, Jr., and Brian Murphy led the exclusive listing marketing effort on this property, which traded at an undisclosed price.

Broadstone Stonebriar, which was developed and built in 2010, is a Class ‘A’ community located in the Plano-Frisco corridor. At time of sale, the asset was 92 percent occupied. The property enjoys a location with easy access to major thoroughfares such as Highway 121, the Dallas North Tollway, and Legacy Drive. Because of the property’s proximity to some of the area’s largest economic drivers, more than 61,000 people are employed within a three-mile radius of the asset. Frisco itself has been enjoying a major population boom, as the number of residents has increased 210 percent since 2000. This, in addition to the city’s recognition by Money magazine as one of the top 100 places to live in the US and by Forbes as one of the top places to relocate, makes it is easy to see why Broadstone Stonebriar was so irresistible to potential buyers. In fact, the property was already enjoying increasing rental rates on renewals and new leases.

“Broadstone Stonebriar is a well-located asset that enjoys quality construction,” said Murphy. “Investors were clamoring to add this to their portfolio.”