CHARLOTTE, NC – Holliday Fenoglio Fowler, L.P. (HFF) announced today that it has closed the $10.825 million sale of an approximately 92-acre land site in the rapidly-growing Apex, North Carolina, area.
HFF represented the seller/developer, Raleigh, North Carolina-based Blue Heron Asset Management, LLC (Blue Heron), in the transaction. The Halle Companies (Halle) purchased the site free and clear of existing debt. Concurrent with the transaction, Halle also purchased an adjacent eight-acre parcel, which was separately brokered by an outside firm, to control the entire 100-acre Westford planned unit development (PUD).
The Westford PUD (Westford) was entitled by Blue Heron for up to 900 residential units and 550,000 square feet of commercial development. The site is ideally positioned at Jenks and Wimberly Roads near the U.S. 64 and Highway 540 interchange. Additionally, Westford is situated approximately 10 miles south of the Research Triangle Park and 19 miles west of downtown Raleigh. Other nearby amenities include the 23-mile American Tobacco walking and biking trail, Apex’s historic downtown district and Jordan Lake State Recreation Area.
The HFF investment sales team representing the seller was led by Justin Good and Allan Lynch.
“Since the opening of interstate-grade Highway 540 in 2012, the surrounding Apex area has been transformed into one of the region’s most sought-after suburbs claiming the top spot on Money Magazine’s Best Places to Live 2015 list,” said Good. “The area’s explosive growth made it especially attractive to developers.”
“We saw great potential in Apex when we made our initial investment five years ago,” added Maurice Malfatti, managing partner of Blue Heron. “Working collaboratively with the town, we were able to execute our business plan and add significant value through the entitlement and approval process.”
About Blue Heron Asset Management, LLC: Blue Heron Asset Management, LLC (Blue Heron) is a private equity real estate firm specializing in investment management, development, repositioning, and asset management. Blue Heron invests across a spectrum of property types, with a focus on multifamily, mixed-use and land, primarily in the rapidly-growing metro areas of North Carolina and throughout the southeastern U.S. region. For more information, visit www.blueheronassetmanagement.com.
About The Halle Companies: The Halle Companies, founded by Mr. Warren Halle in 1972, traces its humble roots to the carpentry contracting business. As the enterprise proliferated, Mr. Halle expanded into the single-family residential housing market. The needs of the burgeoning organization for stricter controls over lot inventories pushed further expansion into the land development industry as well as commercial development. The Halle Companies has developed over 15,000 residential lots, built several thousand residential homes and apartments, and retains over two million square feet of commercial space. From inception and into the future, The Halle Companies has been and will be a dynamic real estate developer establishing and enhancing value through adept planning and implementation. For more information, visit www.hallecompanies.com, or contact assistant vice president Eric Rifkin at erifkin@hallecompanies.com or (919) 387-1885.
About HFF: HFF (Holliday Fenoglio Fowler, L.P.) and HFFS (HFF Securities L.P.) are owned by HFF, Inc. (NYSE: HF). HFF operates out of 23 offices nationwide and is a leading provider of commercial real estate and capital markets services to the U.S. commercial real estate industry. HFF together with its affiliate HFFS offer clients a fully integrated national capital markets platform including debt placement, investment sales, equity placement, advisory services, loan sales and commercial loan servicing. For more information please visit hfflp.com or follow HFF on Twitter @HFF. Holliday Fenoglio Fowler, L.P., acting by and through Holliday GP Corp., a North Carolina licensed real estate broker.