PHILADELPHIA, PA – Holliday Fenoglio Fowler, L.P. (HFF) announced today that it has closed the sale of 1303 Delaware Apartment Homes (“1303 Delaware”), a 231-unit, high-rise multi-housing property in the Trolley Square neighborhood of Wilmington, Delaware.
HFF marketed the asset on behalf of the seller, Merion Realty Partners. Capano Residential purchased the offering free and clear of debt. Additionally, HFF worked on behalf of the new owner to secure a fixed-rate Fannie Mae acquisition loan.
1303 Delaware consists of studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom apartment homes averaging 928 square feet offering panoramic views of historic Trolley Square, which is one of Wilmington’s most sought-after neighborhoods. The property benefits from walkability to a variety of amenities in the surrounding area as well as accessibility to major roadways throughout the highly trafficked Delaware Avenue corridor, including Interstate 95 (0.25 miles) and Route 202 (1.5 miles). 1303 Delaware is also less than two miles from the Wilmington Amtrak station, offering rail transportation throughout Philadelphia and the Northeast. Community amenities include a fitness center, business center and garage parking.
The HFF investment sales team representing the seller was led by senior managing director Mark Thomson and directors Carl Fiebig and Francis Coyne.
HFF’s debt placement team was led by managing director James Conley.
“This was a great opportunity for investors to acquire a property in one of the best locations in the state with a proven value-add component,” Thomson said. “The sellers recently renovated 84 of the 231 units and invested more than $2 million in building systems improvements. The capital spent on building improvements provides the new buyer a great opportunity to focus on updating the remaining 141 unrenovated units, which still have original kitchens and bathrooms.”
“All of these factors combined to create significant interest in the property,” Fiebig added. “Many of the groups attracted to this offering were looking to acquire in Delaware for the first time and were drawn to the strength of the submarket, property and proven value-add story.”
About Merion Realty Partners: Merion Realty Partners (“Merion”), established in 2011, is a sponsor of multifamily-focused investment funds and joint ventures. As of January 2016, Merion has acquired 31 apartment communities with a value of approximately $695 million. Targeting value-add properties, Merion’s primary focus includes projects in the Southeast, Mid-Atlantic and Northeast U.S.
About Capano Residential: Capano Residential (“Capano”) is the multi-family division of a privately held real estate investment company based in Wilmington, Delaware. The second and third generation, father-son team own and manage over 4,500 apartments and two million square feet of office and retail space in Delaware and Florida. Nearly all assets in the portfolio have been developed, built and managed by Capano. The subject acquisition complements an initial 100 units purchased in the adjacent area of Trolley Square in late 2016. In addition to the existing portfolio, Capano will deliver another 500 new luxury apartments and rental townhomes in Delaware over the next year. Capano is actively seeking approvals for over 1,000 units that could break ground in 2019-2020 in all three counties of Delaware.
About HFF: Holliday Fenoglio Fowler, L.P., HFF Real Estate Limited (collectively, “HFF”), HFF Securities L.P. and HFF Securities Limited (collectively, “HFFS”) are owned by HFF, Inc. (NYSE: HF). HFF and its affiliates operate out of 24 offices and are a leading provider of commercial real estate and capital markets services to the global commercial real estate industry. HFF, together with its affiliates, offers clients a fully integrated capital markets platform including debt placement, investment sales, equity placement, funds marketing, M&A and corporate advisory, loan sales and loan servicing. For more information please visit hfflp.com or follow HFF on Twitter @HFF.