TruAmerica Adds to Nashville Portfolio
The firm’s latest acquisition also expands its growing Southeast footprint.
TruAmerica Multifamily, in partnership with Spoke Real Estate Capital, has acquired Charleston Hall, a 194-unit community in Smyrna, Tenn., from Magma Equities. The deal was an off-market transaction. The purchase price could not immediately be learned. The property, located in the southeastern suburbs of Nashville, represents Los Angeles-based TruAmerica’s third in metro Nashville. The company has more than 40 properties in the southeastern U.S.
Charleston Hall consists of one-, two- and three-bedroom units, and also includes 30 three-bedroom, two-bathroom townhomes measuring 1,750 square feet. TruAmerica plans to complete in-progress unit upgrades. Among the improvements are adding stainless-steel appliances with range hoods, cabinets, quartz countertops and vinyl flooring in living areas. The buyer will also undertake exterior work at the property.
Common amenities include a tennis/pickleball court, volleyball court, swimming pool and playground. The property features 410 parking spaces, and each apartment includes washer and dryer hookups and high-speed Internet access. Some units have fireplaces.
The Nashville market is attractive due to positive economic growth drivers, noted Matt Ferrari, head of acquisitions at TruAmerica, which has also undertaken rental housing development in the Southeastern U.S. recently.
The metro Nashville asset, which was developed in phases in 1986 and 1996 on more than 13 acres, is slated for continued capital improvements, making the investment a value-add play. The site at 351 Sam Ridley Parkway East is roughly 30 minutes from downtown Nashville.
The Kirkland Co.’s Dennis Harris and Zac Wracher repped the seller in the deal, while Graystone’s Rob Russell and Rich Kourbage procured the debt for the buyer.
Significant rent growth
While the purchase price could not immediately be learned, it most recently traded for $27 million in 2020, when Magma Equities acquired the property. At that time, the average rent at the property was $1,052 per month, according to Yardi Matrix data. By 2024, the average rent was $1,568 per month. One-bedroom units measuring 730 square feet rented for $891 in 2020. By 2024, those units at the property were renting for $1,338. Two-bedroom, one bath units rented for $850 in 2020, a number that increased to $1,330 by 2024, according to Yardi Matrix data.
Rental growth at the property mirrors the burgeoning metro Nashville market as a whole in recent years, though rent growth has stalled recently as new supply has come on the market. Metro Nashville multifamily rents decreased 1.9% year-over-year in April 2024, according to Yardi Matrix, while the U.S. rate rose 0.7%, Last year’s deliveries set a new decade-high and thus put pressure on occupancy and rents in Nashville.
