Lynd Sells Colorado Springs Apartment Community for $67.5 Million

Real estate firm surpasses investment goals just two years after 2020 acquisition 

COLORADO SPRINGS, CO/SAN ANTONIO, TX-  (December 22, 2022)  Just two years after acquiring a 288-unit, garden-style apartment community in Colorado Springs, Colorado, Lynd Acquisitions Group (LAG) has sold the property for $67.5 million, surpassing investment goals three years sooner than anticipated. 

Lynd bought the Village at Lionstone in December 2020, at the height of the pandemic, for $46.750 million, and sunk another $4 million in renovations and upgrades.

“At the time we bought this asset, we knew the Colorado Springs was one of the hottest apartment markets in the U.S. with no new construction in the pipeline,” said A. David Lynd, Lynd Group CEO. “As a result, we were able to achieve a 31.5% internal rate of return for our investors and an equity multiple of 1.8x in just two years, outperforming our original plan.”  

Built in 1984 at 255 Lionstone Drive near downtown Colorado Springs, the Village at Lionstone offers 1-and 2-bedroom units averaging 670 square feet and 970 square feet respectively.  Lynd renovated 200 units with its signature chief’s kitchen installation, stainless steel appliance upgrades, white quartz countertops, cabinet modifications, vinyl flooring replacements, backsplash tile installation, and new light and plumbing fixtures.  Rents increased as much as $599 per month on the premium units.    

Lynd also added and refreshed many of the amenities and common areas.  The clubhouse was revamped with a redesigned fireplace, a redesigned Amazon package room, and camera system.  The pool area was upgraded with a pergola and lounge area, outdoor BBQs, a turf installation and a new fire pit.  A mountain-bike rack and new dog park were also installed.  

“Lionstone presented us with an opportunity execute on our value-add construction program and utilize our management expertise to bring the property up to contemporary standards to create a better living experience for residents,” said Constantine Scurtis, Lynd’s Chief Investment Officer.  “I am pleased to say we were able to boost rents and occupancy, while creating incredible value for our investment partners.”   

The Lynd Group has a history of developing and managing multifamily assets in Colorado, mainly in the Denver metropolitan area.  Its Denver office is led by Director of Acquisitions, Stephen Hinterkopf.  

SAN ANTONIO, TX- (October 25, 2022)- Lynd Acquisitions Group (LAG), a division of The Lynd Group, has acquired another apartment community in San Antonio, recently closing on the 344-unit Parc 410 in the Leon Valley submarket.  The acquisition price was not disclosed.  Lynd plans on investing $6 million in renovating units and common areas, and performing deferred maintenance.

The garden-style property is located at 5827 NW Loop 410 near the San Antonio River Walk and within a few miles of major employment centers and retail centers.

“With Parc 410, we see a well-located asset ripe for a refresh providing more value to our residents and our investment partners,” said A. David Lynd, Lynd Group CEO.  “While there’s room to push rents higher, renters will still be able to get good bang for their buck compared to other parts of the metro area.”

Built in 1985, the property has one- and two-bedroom units averaging 716 square feet.  Lynd plans on upgrading each of them with new kitchen appliances, cabinet doors, and backsplash tile, as well as new hardwood flooring and lighting fixtures.  Lynd will also upgrade many of the amenities which include two pools, a clubhouse and fitness center, BBQ and picnic areas, gated dog park and a basketball court.   Plans call for installing package lockers and a children’s playground.

Lynd will add the property to its Lynd Living management platform which plans a rebrand once renovations are made.

“From an investment standpoint, we remain bullish on San Antonio,” said Constantine Scurtis, Lynd Group’s chief investment officer.  “Strong in-migration and a lack of housing affordability bode well for multifamily rentals now and into the near future.”

“These are challenging times for capital markets, which in turn has forced many owner-operators to the sidelines,” Lynd said. “But we have had a 40-plus year history of closing deals and managing  in uncertain times and are continuing to push forward now by looking at the world through a new lens.” 

Parc 410 is Lynd’s second apartment investment in San Antonio in the past eight months. In March, it acquired the 244-unit Esperanza Apartments in the Far West Side submarket. 

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ABOUT THE LYND GROUP:   

The Lynd Group is a fully vertically integrated real estate organization based in San Antonio, TX with a long-standing history in the acquisition, development, and management of residential and commercial real estate. Operating approximately 20,000 apartment units in 13 states, Lynd ranks as one of the premiere multifamily management companies in the country.  For more information, visit www.lynd.com.

ABOUT LYND ACQUISITIONS GROUP:

Lynd Acquisitions Group (LAG) is a wholly owned subsidiary of The Lynd Group focused on acquiring properties nationwide where LAG’s process for value creation can be fully utilized creating exceptional value for all the stakeholders.

Lynd Acquisitions Group (LAG), a division of the Lynd Group, and its JV partner Topaz Capital, sold a 444-unit value-add multifamily asset in Jacksonville for $66 million just three years after acquiring it for $35.15 million.  

The partnership invested approximately $5 million updating both living spaces and common areas. They renovated approximately 75% of the units, increasing average rents from $783 per month to $1,078 per month at the time of closing.

“When we acquired the asset, we saw an opportunity to execute our value-add construction program and increase rents significantly,” said A. David Lynd, CEO of The Lynd Group, a national real estate firm that owns, develops and operates multifamily assets throughout the U.S. “We were able to boost rents nearly 30% over three years and achieve a return on equity of 3.5x.”

Located at 5327 Timuquana Road, the garden-style Topaz Villas features one-, two- and three-bedroom units.  The community is located near major employment centers, the St. John’s River and the beach.  The pools, playgrounds and recreational areas all received facelifts.

Lynd’s history with the property goes back to 2017 when it managed the property for a nonprofit owner. After renovating a few units with its own money to test the market, Lynd recognized an opportunity to improve a well-located asset in a rapidly strengthening housing market and partnered with Topaz to buy it outright in June 2019. 

“Just as we were rolling out our renovation program, COVID 19 hit which shut down the economy and created headwinds in the housing market,” said Marc Hershberg, CEO of Topaz, a New York City-based private equity firm. “While many operators halted further investments during this period, Lynd marched through the uncertainty and relied on its 40-plus years of boots- on-the-ground experience to drive value and control the outcome of the investment.”

As the housing market started to rebound in 2020, Lynd invested in two different priced renovation packages to see how the market would respond.   

“What we found is that the market responded very favorably by renting these homes at record rates,” said Constantine Scurtis, Chief Investment Officer of Lynd Acquisitions Group.  “Our ability to adapt at a time of uncertainty while managing risk along the way paid off.”

Properties to add 934 units to investor’s growing portfolio

HOUSTON/SAN ANTONIO, Texas (July 1, 2021)– LYND, a national apartment investor, developer and operator, has closed on the acquisition of two apartment communities in suburban Houston, Texas.

LYND paid $84 million for the 372-unit Paramount at Kingwood and the 312-unit Villas of Valley Ranch, both located northeast of the city.  The seller is Sy Li, a private Texas-based real estate investor. 

The two parties went to contract in March 2020, but the pandemic threatened the deal.  In September, LYND took over management of the assets, spent $600 thousand on renovations, significantly boosted rents and occupancy, and finally got the transaction to the closing table.

“This is basically a case study in what can be done to save a deal when big, unforeseen problems arise,” said A. David Lynd, LYND CEO. “After we went to contract, the properties started tanking, but we did not cut bait and run. Instead, we persuaded the owner to hire us to manage the assets and try to right the ship.  Our Houston team sprang into action, and just five months later, turned them around completely and got them ready for sale.   Now, three years after first pursuing the purchase, we closed the deal.” 

“It’s never comfortable handing over management to a potential buyer,” said Li. “However, since we sold a different portfolio to LYND weeks prior to the pandemic for $161 million, I trusted David to do exactly what he said he would do this go around, and that’s close.” 

Paramount at Kingwood, located in Kingwood, Texas, features 1, 2, and 3-bedroom units with a clubhouse, pool and fitness center.  The Villas at Valley Ranch, located in Porter, Texas, offers 1- and 2-bedroom units and has a pool, outdoor fireplace, dog walk and walking trails. 

“We are bullish on this particular submarket given some of the infrastructure improvements,” said Constantine Scurtis, president of LYND Acquisition Group. “With the upgrades we have already made coupled with our acquisition basis, we are excited about this opportunity.”

Marc Suarez from the Miami office of Lument provided a $68 million dollar loan for the acquisition. 

With the addition of Paramount at Kingwood and the Villas at Valley Ranch, LYND now owns three apartment communities in metro Houston. In 2020, it acquired the 282-unit Royal Oaks at Westchase which was later re-branded to Apex at Royal Oaks.  LYND third-party manages five additional properties in the market.  

Over the last six months, LYND has been on a buying spree, acquiring four multifamily assets for $175.5 million which include the two Houston properties and two in South Florida.  LYND has another $200 million in its pipeline for 2021.

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Several major upgrades to living spaces and common areas planned

Lynd Acquisitions Group (LAG) has added a 288-unit garden-style apartment community to its growing portfolio.  The San Antonio-Texas-based investment group recently acquired the Village at Lionstone Apartments in Colorado Springs, Colorado, one of the strongest apartment markets in the U.S., for $46.75 million.

“This is a solid-performing asset in an area with strong fundamentals and not much new apartment construction,” said A. David Lynd, LYND CEO. “It’s a perfect fit for our portfolio and for our LYND Living model which is providing an exceptional experience for residents.”

Steve Vainer of Greystone facilitated the transaction after another deal fell through.

“When the original buyer looked as if they may not be able to close, I was presented with this unique opportunity,” Vainer said. “LYND was my top choice given our existing relationship and confidence in their ability to execute a quick close.” 

LAG is the acquisition affiliate of LYND, a national real estate firm that specializes in the multifamily operations. The company manages more than 20,000 units in 11 different states in the U.S.

Built in 1984, The Village at Lionstone features 1-and 2-bedroom units with 1-2 bathrooms.  The apartments boast wood floors, stainless steel appliances, wood cabinetry, dining areas and separate walk-in closets. Community amenities abound including a heated pool, with hot tub, picnic areas with BBQ grills and a playground, clubhouse, theater room and business center.

While the property has been updated to some level over the past 36 years, LYND plans on rolling out its LYND Living concept with signature upgrades.  They include: an outside fire pit and sports viewing areas, enhanced laundry-care facility, enhanced outdoor BBQ areas and dog park, and a jogging trail.  Unit improvements include upgraded island kitchen feature, quartz countertops and plank flooring.

 “In a post-COVID world, the value-add features we create on a site must be mindful about creating amenities that will be useful should we ever face another pandemic,” said Lewis Borsellino, LYND’s vice president of acquisitions. “Our newest offering does just this and more.”  The Village at Lionstone is located at 255 Lionstone Dr., Colorado Springs, CO 80916.

LYND has history in Colorado.  It has managed up to 800 units in the past, mostly in the Denver metropolitan area. With this closing, LAG has made $300 million in value-add acquisitions in the last 12 months and has another $230 million in the pipeline already for 2021.  

Texas-based investor to execute value-add strategy to put new shine on ‘crown jewel’

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va./ SAN ANTONIO, Texas--  Lynd Acquisitions Group (LAG), a Texas-based real estate investment vehicle, has acquired an iconic apartment community in Virginia Beach, Virginia for $43 million with plans to spend millions more on value-add improvements. The 16-story, 266-unit Mayflower Apartments at 34^th Street and Atlantic Avenue is a highly coveted address as it is the only high-rise rental building within a block of the Atlantic Ocean.       

 “This is a crown jewel in Virginia Beach; there is nothing else like it,” said A. David Lynd, CEO of LAG and LYND, a privately held apartment management company based in San Antonio. 

“With the Mayflower, we see a tremendous opportunity to execute our current strategy of identifying unique properties that are undervalued and craft tailored plans to unlock the value in both rents and occupancies.” 

Lynd and his co-investors plan on spending $4.6 million-plus on capital improvements to both common areas and individual units. They will invest more than $13,000 per unit to renovate interiors from top to bottom with stainless steel appliances, quartz countertops, hardwood floors and upgraded fixtures.  LYND Management has been retained to oversee the renovations and manage the building. 

 The property has 3,140 square feet of ground-floor commercial space, a separate parcel with 11,915 square feet of free-standing retail and on-site and off-site parking.

 Upgrades to the common areas include the addition of Amazon package lockers, surfboard lockers and an enhanced fitness center.  Built in 1950, the last renovations to the building were completed in 2010. The Mayflower has studio, one and two-bedroom units, and a penthouse floor with commanding views of the coastline.

 “Since the Mayflower is the only rental property of its kind right near the beach, we believe renters will want a well-located and nicer place to call home,” Lynd said.

 LYND has renovated more than 1,600 apartment units in the last two-and-a-half years with a combined budget of $23 million.

“This is a very strategic asset for LYND as the company has the experience and expertise to bring this asset up to contemporary standards,” said Henry Stimler, managing director of Newmark Knight Frank in New York.  “Its platform to execute on value-add real estate is second to none in the market today.”  

Stimler arranged a $33 million acquisition loan for LAG from Hunt Real Estate Capital which was represented by Marc Suarez in Hunt’s Miami office.  Mike Marshall of Newmark represented the seller, Harbor Group International, a Norfolk, Virginia-based real estate investment and management firm with assets valued at $9.7 billion.

 Since 2017, LYND has acquired 4,665 multifamily units throughout Texas, Florida and Illinois valued at nearly $300 million and performed more than $23 million worth of value-add rehabilitation work. Recent investments include a 444-unit garden-style apartment community in Jacksonville, 1,031 apartments in the Florida Panhandle and a 384-bed student housing community in Beaumont, Texas.