ALEXANDRIA, VA—Avalonbay Communities has acquired an apartment building in the Washington DC area after a long investment drought in its home base. The Arlington, VA-based REIT has purchased JBG Cos. and MRP Realty's The Alric at The Exchange at Potomac Yards via an LLC it established earlier this month, according to a state filing and a source, which provided more details about the transaction.
The property traded for $108.3 million, or $335,139 per unit. The two-building, five-floor complex is located at 731 Seaton Ave., and has been rebranded Avalon Potomac Yard.
JBG Cos. and MRP Realty delivered the property in 2014.
An Exception for Hoboken Too
The transaction is an unusual one for the REIT, which hasn't been an acquirer in this market cycle. It made an exception earlier this month, when it acquired an apartment building in Hoboken, NJ for $129.7 million.
Indeed, when asked about during its recent earnings call, COO Matt Birenbaum said that the company wasn't looking to add in Jersey but the opportunity to acquire a property in this market couldn't be passed up. This particular apartment building's units are about 1,000 square feet, which is more suited to families – and Hoboken is trending in that direction as opposed to young singles. There is also, he noted, a supermarket next door.
“It was just a unique opportunity and we feel like we were able to, based on some unique characteristics of the way the asset was marketed, get it at a price that was more compelling than most of the acquisition opportunities we see,” he said, about the New Jersey deal.
ALEXANDRIA, VA—Avalonbay Communities has acquired an apartment building in the Washington DC area after a long investment drought in its home base. The Arlington, VA-based REIT has purchased JBG Cos. and MRP Realty's The Alric at The Exchange at Potomac Yards via an LLC it established earlier this month, according to a state filing and a source, which provided more details about the transaction.
The property traded for $108.3 million, or $335,139 per unit. The two-building, five-floor complex is located at 731 Seaton Ave., and has been rebranded Avalon Potomac Yard.
JBG Cos. and MRP Realty delivered the property in 2014.
An Exception for Hoboken Too
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Erika Morphy
Erika Morphy has been writing about commercial real estate at GlobeSt.com for more than ten years, covering the capital markets, the Mid-Atlantic region and national topics. She's a nerd so favorite examples of the former include accounting standards, Basel III and what Congress is brewing.
