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ALEXANDRIA, Va.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Bonaventure, an integrated alternative asset manager focused on the development, construction, and property management of innovative lifestyle multifamily communities in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions, today announced a partnership in which iCapital¹ will provide a customized end-to-end technology solution that will enable financial advisors and their accredited clients to access Bonaventure’s alternative investment offerings.

iCapital is the leading global fintech platform driving access and efficiency in alternative investing for the asset and wealth management industries. Through this partnership, Bonaventure will leverage iCapital’s full suite of technology and service capabilities to provide wealth advisors and investors with streamlined access to its real estate offerings and end-to-end digital subscription, administration, operational and reporting processes. This fully configurable and highly scalable digital solution is designed to ease operational burdens and improve the user experience.

“Partnering with iCapital represents another important milestone in our ongoing effort to further build out and institutionalize our alternative investments platform,” said Hank Loughran, Senior Vice President of Capital Markets at Bonaventure. “Not only are we committed to introducing attractive rental housing -focused real estate offerings that have the potential to generate attractive risk-adjusted returns, we are working hard to ensure we accomplish this in an innovative way that drives an exceptional user experience. Partnering with iCapital allows us to expand our capabilities in this regard while delivering high-touch service.”

“We are pleased to partner with the Bonaventure team to provide our robust technology solution to support broader access to Bonaventure’s real estate offerings,” said Dan Vene, Co-Founder and Managing Partner, Head of Client Solutions at iCapital. “Advisors are increasingly seeking access to alternative investments, and this partnership enables Bonaventure with an efficient platform to achieve their goals across the private wealth segment.”

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By Chris Wood. Published on July 15, 2022

Built in 2002, the 216-unit Verona at Boynton Beach development in Florida includes 72 one-bedroom, 108 two-bedroom, and 36 three-bedroom apartments with 9-foot ceilings, spacious (1,097 square feet on average) floor plans, and a full-size washer and dryer in every unit. Amenity spaces on the sprawling 14.2-acre resort community grounds include a clubhouse, a business center, a fitness center, a dog park and pet wash station, a playground, a pool, and a package center, plus barbecue and picnic areas. Verona, close to West Palm Beach and Boca Raton, is in Florida’s top submarket for both population and income growth. It’s also ready for a value-add repositioning.

“Value-add used to be updating aging properties from the ’80s and ’90s, but now you’re looking at communities all the way up to 2015 that are ready for both an asset and a management upgrade,” says Stephanie Brock, executive vice president of operations for Chicago-based Waterton, which purchased the Verona in April and has commenced value-add enhancements to both the amenity package and in-unit residence finishes.

One of the target resident demographics for the refreshed Verona will be renters by choice: residents who have the financial wherewithal to purchase a home or condominium but instead elect to live the renter lifestyle. Among them are even more focused cohorts of upwardly mobile young professionals, empty nesters seeking the vibrancy of neighborhood and community, work-from-anywhere digital nomads, and renters of all ilk who simply prefer the convenience of maintenance-free living without the commitment of a mortgage. And that’s just for starters.

“The mortgage is the minimum cost to be a homeowner. Let’s not forget the need to assemble a down payment and pay property taxes, insurance, and maintenance costs,” says Dwight Dunton, founder and CEO of Alexandria, Virginia–based Bonaventure Holdings. “So you can actually afford to pay more in rent versus a mortgage and still have that be economically beneficial because your roof gets repaired, your lawn gets watered, there are teams on call to fix your toilet, your packages are taken care of. There’s tremendous value from being a renter that doesn’t come along with homeownership, and that’s the broader context behind those who choose to rent.”

Multifamily investors targeting value-add opportunities that factor in renters by choice need to begin early in the due-diligence process, determining whether site location per se offers the back-end fundamentals on which to build a value-add play. Specifically, renters by choice tend to look more broadly beyond the property as they consider neighborhood restaurants, entertainment, shopping, walkability, and access to the outdoors, which collectively form a highly amenitized lifestyle.

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July 15, 2022

BIZNOW

Altus Realty acquired two office properties that it plans to convert to life sciences in Rockville, a hot market for the booming sector.. Westat, an employee-owned research company, sold the two buildings at Research Square for $25.5M, according to a press release from CBRE.

The 100% vacant campus at 1500 and 1550 Research Blvd. is already zoned for life sciences space. CBRE Executive Vice President Tommy Cleaver, Senior Vice President Dan Grimes and Vice President Stuart Kenny represented Westat in the deal.

The transaction follows the release of a life sciences talent report from CBRE that identifies the Washington-Baltimore area as the second-best market in the country for life sciences talent.

“Two themes remain consistent: the life sciences industry wants to grow here and we have no space available,” Cleaver said in a statement. “Investors remain attracted to the near-term supply/demand imbalance, as well as the depth of our R&D talent pool which provides a fertile runway for long-term growth.”

SALES

Klein Enterprises acquired a nine-property portfolio of Mid-Atlantic shopping centers, it announced Wednesday. The Baltimore-based firm acquired the portfolio from a joint venture of DRA Advisors and KPR Centers, which had just bought it as part of a 33-property grocery-anchored shopping center portfolio in an $879M acquisition from Cedar Realty Trust announced July 8. Klein’s new properties include The Shoppes in Hyattsville and additional centers in Maryland, Virginia and Pennsylvania. 

Penzance sold another apartment tower to Cortland this week, it announced Wednesday. The Evo at The Highlands building in Rosslyn features 450 units and more than 30K SF of amenity space in a 29-story tower. Cortland announced it was entering the D.C. market by acquiring four Penzance properties in May for what is expected to be more than $1B. Only two of the acquisitions had closed at the time, and Wednesday’s announcement revealed the third building it acquired. 

Cogent Communications CEO Dave Schaeffer acquired two office properties in the past week in D.C. and Tysons, Bisnow reported. The 207K SF property at 1801 L St. NW was acquired for $63M on July 8 from Eleven Eighteen Limited Partnership. The two-tower, 386K SF property at 7799 Leesburg Pike in Tysons was acquired for roughly $50M from Lerner Enterprises. 

MILESTONES

Roadside Development’s City Ridge mixed-use development is slated to deliver 167K SF of offices when complete.

Roadside Development and North America Sekisui House LLC celebrated the grand opening of City Ridge on July 9 with Mayor Muriel Bowser and other officials. Including D.C.’s first Wegmans, the mixed-use development on the site of the former Fannie Mae headquarters features 154K SF of retail and 160K SF of offices. The developers also expect 690 residential units to deliver on the mixed-use site by the end of the year. The first multifamily building at City Ridge, The Branches, began move-ins this spring.

Bonaventure is beginning construction on two Northern Virginia properties. The integrated asset manager said work was underway on a “resort-style” senior living community in Old Town West. The 133-unit property, located less than half a mile from the Braddock Road Metro station, is designed to feature a 4,500 SF restaurant space, a 24-hour fitness center and other amenities when it begins accepting renters, scheduled for late 2023. Meanwhile, Palmer’s Creek Phase II, a 200-unit, garden-style community, is located at 9000 and 9014 Spring Valley Lane in Fredericksburg. That project is scheduled to deliver in the fourth quarter of 2023.

PERSONNEL

Stream Realty Partners hired Chris Skelly to serve as vice president of property management in its D.C. office. Skelly comes to Stream from Blake Real Estate and has managed more than 5M SF of office and event space, according to a release from Stream. Skelly will report to Regional Managing Director Dorothy Hamilton. 

JLL has hired a professional from Deloitte to lead a team advising government and education clients on clean energy. As clean energy public sector lead, Andrew Linowes will help grow JLL’s clean energy business, according to a press release. He will also help clients meet their sustainability goals, often by updating aging infrastructure. 

A London-based flex workspace consulting group has hired D.C.-based professional Julia Kean to be its director of strategy and change and global digital workplace lead. Incendium, part of The Instant Group, is creating a global marketplace for flex workspace, per a press release. Kean joins Incendium from Xyster Consulting, where she has spent the past eight years advising clients on digitally enabled workplace strategy, Incendium Americas Director Nick LiVigne said in a statement. 

Grosvenor has brought back Ashleigh Simpson to head its eight-person North American Structured Development Finance Programme. Simpson, who was vice president of Northeast acquisitions and joint ventures at MetLife Investment Management, has led 43 investments totaling more than $8B over his 26 years in real estate. Before MetLife, Simpson spent about six years on Grosvenor’s investment team until 2007.

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July 14, 2022

ALEXANDRIA, Va.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Bonaventure, an integrated alternative asset manager focused on the development, construction, and property management of innovative lifestyle multifamily communities in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions, today announced the commencement of construction on a 133-unit luxury senior living project in the Old Town West neighborhood of Alexandria, Virginia.

The multimillion-dollar development will feature a six-story building with underground parking, studio, 1- and 2-bedroom living options, and high-end amenities such as a 4,550-square-foot restaurant, 24-hour fitness center, club lounge, business center and media room. The project’s outdoor amenities will provide inviting spaces for residents and their families, including a community garden and gazebo. Bonaventure expects to complete construction and begin welcoming renters in late 2023.

“Our housing portfolio may span multiple demographics, but our Bonaventure standard of excellence is the same – every property is purposely designed with excellence and the needs of the community in mind,” said Dwight Dunton, founder and CEO of Bonaventure. “The future residents of this community will enjoy top-of-the-line and have unparalleled access to the best of Alexandria, helping to create a highly attractive destination that appeals to our target demographic.”

The luxury multifamily community is situated centrally in the Old Town West neighborhood and is transit-oriented. It is less than 0.3 miles from the Braddock Road Metro Station, 1.5 miles to Interstate 495, and less than three miles from Reagan National Airport. Future residents will also enjoy the property’s close proximity (less than 0.3 miles) to King Street, which features a variety of dining and retail options.

Since its inception in 1999, Bonaventure has established itself as one of the most prolific multifamily developers and operators in the Mid-Atlantic region, and is currently expanding throughout the Southeast. Its portfolio includes a mix of affordable, luxury and senior living communities.

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July 13, 2022

(Wealth Management)—Over the past few years, the delta between cap rates and valuations for older multifamily properties—those completed before 1996—and newer properties has narrowed. In fact, it’s narrowed so much so that investors who’ve traditionally preferred to buy older apartment assets are now “trading up” to much newer properties.

wealthmanagement.comOrion Real Estate Partners is one such investor. The Los Angeles-based firm recently acquired Remington Ranch, a 180-unit apartment community in San Antonio that was built in 2008. With 80 percent of the property’s units in original condition beyond cosmetic repairs, Remington Ranch is “an ideal candidate for a value-add unit renovation,” according to Marc Venegas, principal with Orion Real Estate Partners.

Related: Multifamily Values Increasing Faster in Suburbs and Smaller Metros

While Remington Ranch features all the physical amenities that residents expect in a newer property, it lacks the quality of finishes of a recently completed building. This “makes it easier” for Orion to execute its business plan, Venegas notes, adding that the firm plans to invest approximately $2.6 million in interior and exterior improvements.

“Historically, when you bought an older property, you got a better price per unit and a better cap rate than you would on a newer property, which gave you more ability to push rents and make a return,” Venegas says. “But over the last few years, those spreads went away, and investors weren’t getting the same benefit for buying older properties that they used to. Old or new, you were almost paying the same cap rate.”

 

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