UMH, Nuveen Expand Partnership in Philly

The 113-homesite project will break ground soon. Image by Nick Night, via Unsplash

UMH Properties has expanded its partnership with Nuveen Real Estate by forming a joint venture for the ground-up development of a manufactured housing community in Honey Brook, Pa. The 113-homesite project is expected to break ground over the next few weeks, with completion scheduled for early 2025. 

The new manufactured housing community will span across 61 acres that UMH Properties purchased in November 2022. The lot is now being sold to the joint venture. The development will be close to two manufactured housing communities managed by UMH Properties that have a 98 percent occupancy rate, according to prepared remarks from the company’s President & CEO Samuel Landy. The two partners expect strong sales and lease-up at the new property once completed.

A strong commitment

UMH Properties will retain a 40 percent ownership stake through the joint venture, while also serving as developer, operating and managing member. Nikita Rao, portfolio manager of Nuveen’s U.S. Cities Multifamily Fund, said in a prepared statement that the development marks the Fund’s first foray into the MHC sector and Nuveen Real Estate’s third investment with the REIT.

The joint venture was originally established in late 2021, with a clear focus to acquire recently completed manufactured home assets in the U.S., and an initial capital commitment of $170 million. In early 2023, the partnership picked up a property in Sebring, Fla., marking its second deal in Florida.