FriedLam Partners Acquires NC Portfolio

FriedLam Partners has acquired a six-property multifamily portfolio comprising 895 apartments in Charlotte, N.C., for $77.5 million. The sale, arranged by Capstone Apartment Partners, marks the largest portfolio transaction in the Charlotte market this year.

The meticulously-maintained portfolio had been under the ownership of the same entity for more than 30 years.

The half dozen apartment communities comprising the portfolio are scattered around the fast-growing Charlotte area. They are located in popular areas like the northeast side arts-and-entertainment district of North Davidson, known locally as NoDa, and near that enclave, the trendy east side restaurant-and-entertainment hub Plaza Midwood.

The Charlotte market’s attractiveness to multifamily owners is evident in the continuing rise in rental rates in the face of growing apartment community supply. A center for technology, logistics and distribution, manufacturing, banking, health care and energy companies, Charlotte has enjoyed strong job growth fueled by major area employer hiring. Large corporate employers include Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Lending Tree, Atrium Health, Novant Health, Duke Energy, IBM, Lowe’s and Amazon.

In October, 11,416 units of rental housing were under construction in the metropolitan area. The sale of the portfolio indicates well-located and well-maintained existing rental communities continue to be sought, given property owners’ ability to leverage market trends, price appreciation and expected continued strong demand. Forecasts indicate demand will be particularly robust for well-maintained properties in central infill locales.

The Capstone Apartment Partners transaction team that arranged the portfolio sale was led by Brian Ford, Alex McDermott and Ron Corrao.