TruAmerica Multifamily has made its first investments in Houston with the acquisition of a two-property multifamily portfolio totaling 652 units.  

The portfolio includes the 364-unit Camden Oak Crest and 288-unit Camden Park, both developed by the seller, a Houston-based Real Estate Investment Trust. The properties are located approximately 1.5 miles from each other, near the center of the popular Westchase Business District in Western Houston.   Both garden-style communities feature a mix of one-, two- and three-bedroom apartment homes offering resort-style amenities including swimming pool, fitness center and picnic areas with outdoor grills. 

“The Portfolio represents an excellent opportunity to acquire well-maintained and institutionally owned product, in a prime location with value-add opportunity,” said Ammanuel Metta, senior director of acquisitions and head of the firm’s Dallas office.   “These properties benefit from strong surrounding demographics, and proximity to more than 1,500 businesses within the Westchase Business District including major employers as Emerson, Cameron, Chevron, Jacobs Engineering and BMC Software. 

The communities, which will be rebranded as Oak Crest and Wood Park, represent TruAmerica’s first investments in Houston.  Since establishing a Central U.S. headquarters office in Dallas in 2020 under Metta’s direction, TruAmerica has built a multifamily portfolio in the state that includes seven communities totaling 2,200 apartment homes.  The assets are located in Dallas, San Antonio, Austin and Houston. 

Houston, the largest city in Texas by population and area, has fared well in the last few years despite the pandemic. Since the reopening of the economy, large construction plans such as a highspeed railway between Dallas and Houston will spur further job growth resulting in greater demand for quality and affordable multifamily units in the region. 

“Houston’s economy is becoming more diverse with each passing year,” added Metta.   “More companies are moving to Texas because of its favorable tax and regulatory environment.  Houston’s low cost of living, compared to other tier-one markets in the state, establishes the metro as a prominent relocation destination for well-educated people looking to live in a city with an exceptional quality of life.” 

Financing was arranged by Ryan Greer, senior vice president in CBRE’s Capital Markets Debt and Structured Finance group in the firm’s West Los Angeles office.

David Mitchell, vice chairman with Newmark Knight Frank in the firm’s Houston office represented both parties in the transaction.  

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TruAmerica Multifamily has acquired Ridgemont at Stringers Ridge, a 226-unit multifamily community in Chattanooga, TN.

Ridgemont at Stringers Ridge is TruAmerica’s first acquisition in Chattanooga and third in Tennessee in the last 10 months. Built in 1988, the property features a mix of one- and two-bedroom apartment homes. The property provides TruAmerica with the opportunity to upgrade both the unit interiors and common areas.

Chattanooga is the fourth largest city in Tennessee and since 2010 has been the second fastest-growing big city in the state. Chattanooga’s low cost of living, diverse economy and growing job market have fueled that phenomenal population growth buoyed by the steady influx of major companies into the market. Those companies include Cigna, Northwestern Mutual, Tennessee Valley Authority, and Erlanger Health System. Employment opportunities have brought a stream of new residents, creating a growing need for quality housing.

“Chattanooga checks all the boxes when it comes to demand drivers we look for in a multifamily market,” said Matt Ferrari, Co-Chief Investment Officer at TruAmerica. “Its heightened level of affordability and continued in-migration into the MSA were several of the key factors that we valued prior to entering this new market.”

Situated just off state route 27, the property is two miles north of downtown Chattanooga, providing easy access to the city’s largest employers and amenity centers, as well as its renowned parks and nature preserves. It is also zoned to the highly ranked Hamilton County School District and just a short ten-minute drive from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, which has 12,000 students and 1,400 faculty members.

Ridgemont at Stringers Ridge’s location in the North Shore submarket attracts renters seeking a suburban lifestyle with proximity to urban amenities. North Shore has a myriad of upscale restaurants, bars, and shops, and has experienced over 20 percent population growth over the last decade, primarily due to millennial migration, according to figures from CBRE which marketed the property for sale on behalf of the seller.  Ridgemont is also the only apartment community with a trailhead on Stringer’s Ridge, a 92-acre nature preserve with popular walking, mountain biking and hiking trails. 

TruAmerica Multifamily ("TruAmerica") has added more than 250 units to its multifamily portfolio in Massachusetts with the acquisition of the Marquee at Andover and Lux at Stoughton in two separate transactions. The Los Angeles-based value add multifamily investment firm, which entered the Boston MSA in late 2020 with the purchase of The Preserve at Cohasset, now counts nearly 500 apartment homes in its local portfolio. 

The Boston multifamily market has rebounded strongly as the pandemic has waned.  According to a 2021 Brookings Institute report, Boston’s suburbs had higher rates of population growth than the city of Boston.  The area’s largest economic drivers are the esteemed medical centers and universities in and around the metro. In addition, technology companies such as Amazon and IBM have recently established locations throughout the greater Boston area including the Andover submarket.   

“In addition to a relatively easy commute to downtown Boston, both suburban markets are coming into their own as satellite business hubs,” says Alex King, Director of Acquisitions at TruAmerica. 

The 115-unit Marquee at Andover is located at 460 River Road in Andover and is three miles from 3.2 million square feet of office space, home to such companies as Raytheon, Proctor and Gamble, Pfizer, and Hewlett Packard. The location is also served by I-93 which provides a direct route to downtown Boston for commuters. 

The 154-unit Lux at Stoughton is located at 3101 Stagecoach Rd in Stoughton, a suburb located 20 miles south of Boston. It is served by the I-93 and the nearby MBTA commuter rail which both provide access to downtown Boston. Stoughton boasts retail centers South Shore Plaza and University Station, as well as one of the country’s largest healthcare centers. 

Both properties have been well maintained but will benefit from TruAmerica’s value-add program, which will include improvements to the amenity spaces and apartment interiors, according to King.  

The seller of Marquee at Andover was represented by Chris Phaneuf of JLL.  Simon Butler of CBRE represented the seller of Lux at Stoughton.  

TruAmerica Multifamily (“TruAmerica”) has increased its footprint in some of the strongest multifamily markets in the United States after closing last week on garden-style communities in Las Vegas, NV; Tampa, FL; and Salt Lake City, UT in three separate transactions totaling $209 million. 

Combined, the properties, total nearly 1,000 apartment homes and increases the Los Angeles-based value add multifamily investment firm’s portfolio to more than 45,000 units.  

Florida, Nevada and Utah, which represent approximately 25% of TruAmerica’s portfolio, are among the most fundamentally sound multifamily markets in the U.S. exhibiting solid wage, population and employment growth, according to Co-Chief Investment Officer Matthew Ferrari.  “Much of this is due in large part to the migration of corporations and families that follow them to these lower-cost-of-living states.”

The three properties, built between 1985 and 1995 represent an attractive value-add opportunity as each will benefit from TruAmerica’s targeted and accretive improvements to the interiors, exteriors and amenity spaces.   

The largest of the three communities is the 396-unit Stillwater Palms which is located at 2480 Cypress Pond Road in Palm Harbor, 23 miles west of Tampa, FL.   Stillwater Palms benefits from several significant demand drivers, according to Ferrari.  “As one of Florida’s leading business centers with a world-class port, airport, and massive medical community, the Tampa MSA is home to renowned financial, insurance, and IT companies, including the headquarters of numerous Fortune 500/1000 companies. The metro is the western gateway to Florida’s Interstate-4 high tech corridor that spans 13 counties and is also recognized for its burgeoning post-secondary education system.”

Vida is a 252-unit garden style community on 4.64 acres at 560 Hacienda Ave in Las Vegas two miles west of the world-famous Las Vegas Strip.   Located in one of the city’s preferred residential areas, Vida’s Southwest submarket has added nearly 60,000 new residents since 2010, with many residents opting to rent versus buy due to surging home prices.  

“Renting remains especially affordable compared to owning a home in Las Vegas,” said TruAmerica Senior Director Zach Rivas who oversees TruAmerica’s acquisition efforts in the market.  “The average rent produces a comparably low average rent-to-income ratio of less than 25 percent resulting in a higher propensity for residents to rent.”  

Falls at Hunters Pointe is a 276-unit community located at 11251 South State Street in Sandy, Utah. It is easily accessible to major shopping centers, the Interstate 15 highway, two UTA TRAX light-rail stations, and The Silicon Slopes, Utah’s technology employment hub. Its proximity to The Silicon Slopes is especially valuable given the increasing importance of the tech sector in Utah’s job market. 

“Sandy is one of the most sought-after communities in the Salt Lake City Metro, positioned squarely in the hot bed of The Silicon Slopes and Falls at Hunters Pointe is one of the best located properties in the submarket,” said TruAmerica Associate Director Wesley LaBar who led the firm’s acquisition effort.   “It is rare to find a suburban garden-style community that is walkable to so many entertainment, shopping and recreational options.”

TruAmerica Multifamily (“TruAmerica”) has increased its footprint in some of the strongest multifamily markets in the United States after closing last week on garden-style communities in Las Vegas, NV; Tampa, FL; and Salt Lake City, UT in three separate transactions totaling $209 million. 

Combined, the properties, total nearly 1,000 apartment homes and increases the Los Angeles-based value add multifamily investment firm’s portfolio to more than 45,000 units.  

Florida, Nevada and Utah, which represent approximately 25% of TruAmerica’s portfolio, are among the most fundamentally sound multifamily markets in the U.S. exhibiting solid wage, population and employment growth, according to Co-Chief Investment Officer Matthew Ferrari.  “Much of this is due in large part to the migration of corporations and families that follow them to these lower-cost-of-living states.”

The three properties, built between 1985 and 1995 represent an attractive value-add opportunity as each will benefit from TruAmerica’s targeted and accretive improvements to the interiors, exteriors and amenity spaces.   

The largest of the three communities is the 396-unit Stillwater Palms which is located at 2480 Cypress Pond Road in Palm Harbor, 23 miles west of Tampa, FL.   Stillwater Palms benefits from several significant demand drivers, according to Ferrari.  “As one of Florida’s leading business centers with a world-class port, airport, and massive medical community, the Tampa MSA is home to renowned financial, insurance, and IT companies, including the headquarters of numerous Fortune 500/1000 companies. The metro is the western gateway to Florida’s Interstate-4 high tech corridor that spans 13 counties and is also recognized for its burgeoning post-secondary education system.”

Vida is a 252-unit garden style community on 4.64 acres at 560 Hacienda Ave in Las Vegas two miles west of the world-famous Las Vegas Strip.   Located in one of the city’s preferred residential areas, Vida’s Southwest submarket has added nearly 60,000 new residents since 2010, with many residents opting to rent versus buy due to surging home prices.  

“Renting remains especially affordable compared to owning a home in Las Vegas,” said TruAmerica Senior Director Zach Rivas who oversees TruAmerica’s acquisition efforts in the market.  “The average rent produces a comparably low average rent-to-income ratio of less than 25 percent resulting in a higher propensity for residents to rent.”  

Falls at Hunters Pointe is a 276-unit community located at 11251 South State Street in Sandy, Utah. It is easily accessible to major shopping centers, the Interstate 15 highway, two UTA TRAX light-rail stations, and The Silicon Slopes, Utah’s technology employment hub. Its proximity to The Silicon Slopes is especially valuable given the increasing importance of the tech sector in Utah’s job market. 

“Sandy is one of the most sought-after communities in the Salt Lake City Metro, positioned squarely in the hot bed of The Silicon Slopes and Falls at Hunters Pointe is one of the best located properties in the submarket,” said TruAmerica Associate Director Wesley LaBar who led the firm’s acquisition effort.   “It is rare to find a suburban garden-style community that is walkable to so many entertainment, shopping and recreational options.”

TruAmerica Multifamily, in separate transactions, has acquired two large garden-style apartment communities in Tampa, FL and Atlanta, GA growing its Southeast U.S. portfolio to approximately 10,000 apartment homes with assets located in Florida, Georgia, Tennessee and North Carolina. 

After focusing on investments in the western U.S. during its first four years of operations, TruAmerica entered the southeast property markets in 2017 with a two-property portfolio buy in Orlando, totaling 708 apartment homes.  The firm’s Florida holdings now include 18 properties representing nearly 6,000 units. 

The firm’s newest investment is Sabal Palm Apartments, a 432-unit apartment home community in Carrollwood, 10 miles north of Tampa in Hillsborough County.  Built in 1995, Sabal Palm is one of the largest apartment communities in the area.  Its mix of one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments are housed in 15 three-story residential buildings on a 29-acre site.  Community amenities include a resident clubhouse, resort style pool with an expansive sundeck overlooking a six-acre pond, covered poolside pavilions with grill stations, 24-hour fitness center, tennis courts, sand volleyball court and dog park. 

“Multifamily development in Carrollwood and all of Hillsborough County has not kept up with the tremendous population and job growth that has occurred in the region over the last 10 years,” said TruAmerica Co-Chief Investment Officer Matthew Ferrari.  “There is no new construction planned within five miles of the Sabal Palm Apartments.”  

According to a report by Hillsborough County, the area benefited from the creation of 215,000 new private sector jobs in 2019.  Job growth is estimated to be 43 percent over the next 20 years driven largely by the region’s diverse employment base that includes businesses in healthcare, defense and security, logistics, education and tourism.    

In a separate transaction, TruAmerica also has acquired Sandtown Vista Apartments, a 350-unit community in Atlanta’s South Fulton neighborhood, bringing its holdings in the state of Georgia to approximately 2,800 units. 

Built in 2009, Sandtown Vista Apartments is located at 1475 Sand Bay Drive SW and features a mix of one-, two- and three-bedroom apartment homes.  At 1,148 square feet Sandtown Vista offers the largest average unit size among the competitive set in the area.    Despite what is arguably the economic and social engine of the southeast, Atlanta suffers from a significant supply/demand imbalance particularly in the popular southwest sector.  According to CoStar, the majority of apartment inventory was built between 2000 and 2010 with only one new property delivered in SW Atlanta in the past 10 years.  

The Eastdil Secured team of Phil Brosseau, Jr., Ryan Reid, Eric Zimmerman and Parker Yates marketed the Sabal Palm Apartments on behalf of the seller, a New York-based global real estate investment firm. 

The seller of the Sandtown Vista Apartments, a Kansas-based real estate investment and development firm was represented by Mike Kemether and Travis Presnell of Cushman & Wakefield’s Sunbelt Multifamily Advisory Group.