Aria at Rollingbrook is a 240-unit class-A apartment community.
BAYTOWN, TX—Baytown is the home of more than 20 petrochemical facilities including the nation's biggest petrochemical plant, ExxonMobil Baytown, which consists of four separate facilities. Drever Capital Management recently acquired Aria at Rollingbrook, a 240-unit class-A apartment community previously known as Watercolor, at 1700 Rollingbrook Dr., a half-mile from ExxonMobil Baytown, and adjacent to Chevron Phillips 66 Chemical's joint-venture Cedar Bayou facility. Drever purchased the multifamily asset from The Leyendecker Group of Houston. The price was not disclosed.
“This is more than an acquisition of a year-old class-A stabilized apartment community with an excellent I-10 location and a high 90% occupancy,” explains Noah Drever, senior managing director of Drever Capital. “It is a strategic investment for our fund in one of Houston's strongest suburban economies that's driven by the downstream petrochemical sector.”
Drever said Baytown's Gulf Coast location, between Galveston and the Port of Houston Ship Channel, means that Aria residents working in engineering, industrial construction or maintenance can choose from more than 120 petrochemical employers in East Harris County without getting bogged down in long commutes. And, residents can put down roots and not have to relocate when they complete a project or assignment, Drever explains.
“We're well positioned to attract some of the 4,300 employees and personnel maintaining the plant,” said Drever. “Additionally, the Chevron Phillips 66 Chemical plant, with its $6 billion construction campaign, will generate approximately 500 jobs annually during the next six years on top of an existing 9,000 employee base. Our residents are hardworking people who also want a quality lifestyle plus great value and personalized services for their money while our investors want safe and socially responsible returns.”
Drought-tolerant irrigation and landscaping will be added throughout to create a park-like retreat and add recreation space, says Drever. A commercial-grade outdoor kitchen/bar will be incorporated into the pool area. In response to resident demand, interior upgrades will include granite kitchen countertops, and Energy Star appliances and washers/dryers in each unit.
Drever Capital Management, which won the 2016 Information Management Network commercial real estate social responsibility award, is continuing to live up to its motto of “Doing Well by Doing Good” by offering monthly rent discounts to teachers, firefighters, police officers, medical workers, and active and former military personnel. The new owner is also donating an apartment in Aria to a Baytown police officer.
“So many workforce folks, especially military and law enforcement people, dedicate their entire careers, often at great personal sacrifice to themselves and their families. As value-add investors, we believe it's important to provide more than just top-tier amenities and upgrades when we acquire a rental apartment community,” Drever tells GlobeSt.com. “We've long been convinced our role is to contribute to the neighborhood with financial assistance as well and that will be an emerging trend in the multifamily sector in 2017 and beyond.”
The acquisition was brokered by Clint Duncan, senior vice president, investment properties of CBRE's Houston office, who represented the seller. Tom Cabibi, director of acquisitions for Drever Capital, represented the buyer. Freddie Mac provided the financing.
Duncan said Baytown's growth, coupled with an expansion at the Port of Houston and the export of downstream petrochemical products, will ensure a demand for top-tier apartment and single-family housing for years to come. Population projections are exceptionally bullish. Growth ranged from 78,000 in 2010 to 86,000 in 2016 to 90,000 in 2019. Most of the influx are industrial construction workers.
“Over the life cycle of the two megaprojects—ExxonMobil and Chevron Phillips, 22,000 people will have worked at those facilities,” according to B.J. Simon, associate director of Baytown Economic Development Foundation. “The rule of thumb is that 15% of the workers will be retained, remain in the market, work with other construction contractors along the Gulf Coast and be deployed to other projects in the area.”
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Lisa Brown
Lisa Brown is an editor for the south and west regions of GlobeSt.com. She has 25-plus years of real estate experience, with a regional PR role at Grubb & Ellis and a national communications position at MMI. Brown also spent 10 years as executive director at NAIOP San Francisco Bay Area chapter, where she led the organization to achieving its first national award honors and recognition on Capitol Hill. She has written extensively on commercial real estate topics and edited numerous pieces on the subject.
