REAL ESTATE TECHNOLOGY
Faropoint | July 06, 2022
Faropoint, a leading real estate investment firm focused on last-mile industrial properties in high population growth markets, today announced the sale of 109 institutional-quality, last-mile logistics buildings to a private buyer for $481 million. The portfolio consists of 6.8 million square feet of warehouse space largely concentrated in Atlanta, Philadelphia, Houston and Memphis.
The close of this portfolio sale in the current market climate further demonstrates Faropoint’s successful strategy as an aggregator of individual warehouses in growth markets across the U.S. The firm leverages a proprietary origination platform to collect data from its team of investment professionals across nine U.S. offices. This curation of data arms Faropoint with actionable insights and analytics to identify mostly off-market opportunities to acquire last-mile industrial buildings.
“This deal marks one of the largest portfolio sales of last-mile urban logistics centers in recent years and positions Faropoint to continue to provide significant value to its investors through its last-mile industrial funds,”
Faropoint Chief Relations Officer Raz Rahamim
The 109-building portfolio includes multi-tenant warehouse and light industrial properties, with each building averaging 62,000 square feet. The portfolio is 98 percent leased and occupied by approximately 200 local, regional and national tenants. During the firm’s 3-year hold period, Faropoint executed 120 leases across the portfolio, significantly increasing NOI and lease commitments.
“Our firm is extremely bullish about last-mile industrial and we are optimistic that fundamentals will remain strong in this segment of the market long-term due to constrained supply,” said Faropoint Chief Investment Officer Ohad Portat. “We will continue to closely monitor market conditions and adjust our strategy as needed in response to macroeconomic trends and future volatility.”
This disposition follows a record-breaking year of activity in 2021, during which time Faropoint acquired 148 buildings in 85 separate transactions.
“Transacting at such a high volume across nine offices and aggregating data from thousands of deals allows our team to act with much more accuracy and certainty when vetting and underwriting deals.” said Faropoint Chief Executive Officer Adir Levitas. “As the current macroeconomic climate evolves, we will continue to assess market conditions, and are well-capitalized to act when the right opportunities present themselves.”
Eastdil Secured advised Faropoint on the sale and financing of the portfolio, and Duval & Stachenfeld LLP served as legal advisor.
About Faropoint
Faropoint is a vertically integrated, data-driven real estate investment manager that leverages data and deep market relationships to achieve superior risk-adjusted returns. Faropoint targets inefficiencies in the marketplace that can be solved with technology and scaled to create meaningful positions using cutting-edge, proprietary, real estate underwriting and portfolio management methods. The company invests in markets with strong demographics and high construction barriers to entry, such as Atlanta, Dallas, Philadelphia, Northern New Jersey, Chicago, Tampa, Miami, and Memphis. Faropoint currently owns and manages more than 20 million square feet of industrial assets.
About Eastdil Secured
As the most relevant and trusted advisor in the commercial real estate capital markets, Eastdil Secured creates value for clients through creative, actionable ideas and flawless execution. With an unrivaled combination of capital markets expertise and in-depth understanding of real estate fundamentals, Eastdil Secured delivers best-in-class advice on mergers and acquisitions, sales, joint ventures, debt placement, structured credit and loan sales to investors around the world. Headquartered in New York, Eastdil Secured has a broad global footprint to support clients with offices across the United States in Atlanta, Boston, Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, Miami, Orange County, San Francisco, Seattle, Silicon Valley and Washington, D.C., and internationally in London, Paris, Frankfurt, Milan, Dublin, Dubai, Hong Kong and Tokyo.
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REAL ESTATE ADVICE
Sklar Kirsh | June 29, 2022
Los Angeles-based law boutique Sklar Kirsh LLP announced that it has bolstered its real estate practice with the addition of Amit S. Patel, who joins the firm as a Partner.
Patel represents owners, developers, and investors in the acquisition, sale, lease, development, and financing of retail, office, commercial, industrial and residential real estate. His recent work includes oversight over the fifth largest multifamily sale in the history of U.S. real estate, worth approximately $1.85 billion and consisting of 13,243 apartments at 36 properties, 21 loan defeasances and 11 loan assumptions. An expert in portfolio transactions on behalf of industrial owners, he recently handled approximately $850 million over two sales of 26 properties.
Joining the highly successful practice chaired by firm Co-Founder Andrew T. Kirsh, Patel brings the total number of attorneys working under the firm's real estate arm to 18.
We've been expanding steadily as a firm, but our goal hasn't been to add attorneys for the sake of it - we're cultivating talent that will add value to our clients for years to come. Between Amit's thriving practice and his tireless dedication to his practice, we couldn't be happier to add him to the team."
Andrew T. Kirsh,Co-Founder
Patel additionally counsels clients in operating and tenants-in-common agreements, restructuring and buy/sell agreements and property management agreements.
Patel praised the quality and versatility of Sklar Kirsh's real estate team, which he attributed as a primary motivator for joining the team.
"I've always taken a comprehensive approach to representation, guiding clients from start to finish while looking out for them from every angle," said Patel. "It's refreshing to be practicing with a team of professionals who shares and complements that mindset."
AboutSklar Kirsh
Sklar Kirsh LLP is a boutique law firm that provides sophisticated and expert advice in the areas of corporate, real estate, bankruptcy, and entertainment law as well as commercial, real estate and entertainment litigation.
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REAL ESTATE ADVICE
Urban Land Institute | June 28, 2022
A new report from the Urban Land Institute (ULI) investigates how the real estate community is working to address the homelessness crisis in the United States. The report explores how to support people experiencing homelessness through creative housing solutions and collaboration with community organizations, with the ultimate goal of providing abundant, affordable, and high-quality housing for affected and at-risk populations.
According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, 2020 marked the fourth consecutive annual increase in people experiencing homelessness. Homelessness is a systemic challenge that necessitates the involvement and collaboration of the government, the private sector, philanthropic organizations, health and social services, faith communities, and the public.
The ULI report, Homeless to Housed, offers housing case studies, universally applicable lessons, and a blueprint for how to replicate best practices in other communities to show how the development community can be an active partner in addressing homelessness.
More than ever before, homelessness is being driven by rapidly increasing housing costs, and the public and private sectors must work together both to meet the needs of the unhoused and to prevent more households from falling into homelessness. This report offers creative models and examples of how the real estate community is effectively leveraging its housing development, management, investment, and financing expertise to enable cities to overcome the growing challenge of homelessness."
Christopher Ptomey, Executive Director of the ULI Terwilliger Center for Housing
Key takeaways from the new report include:
Housing is important, but social services are essential: Housing is an essential first step in addressing homelessness, but it is not a solution in and of itself. Comprehensive social services are a critical second component. Delivering one without the other offers little chance of successfully tackling the crisis.
Novel, creative solutions are needed: Nowhere is the need for innovation more evident than in seeking to address homelessness. Two areas of focus are cost-effective construction methods and non-governmental funding sources. Private companies -- both in real estate and in other sectors -- have a vital role to play in the latter.
All segments of the community must play a role: Homelessness affects real estate, health care, social services, education, economic development, and more. Community collaboration is essential, particularly among the private and public sectors. The real estate sector is obligated to provide cost-effective housing, and it is incumbent on governments to pursue bold policies that allow for more housing for people of all income levels.
Homelessness is a multifaceted issue, but in many cases links back to economics: Whether because of a lack of affordable housing, low wages, unexpected expenses, loss of employment, illness, lack of insurance, or a domestic issue, homelessness can be a result of economic stress.
The report includes seven case studies that feature creative solutions for addressing homelessness that could serve as models for investors and developers alike:
New Orleans: City of New Orleans Shelter and Engagement Center provides a 24-hour shelter to 100 homeless individuals and provides services to help guests secure permanent housing.
Mountain View, Calif: LifeMoves is a supportive interim housing community that provides intensive case management services to help clients overcome homelessness and return to sustainable housing.
Long Beach, Calif: Former Best Western Motel Conversion was the recipient of funds from Project Homekey, California's innovative $600 million program to purchase and rehabilitate housing. The former motels now provide temporary housing for residents 65 and older with pre-existing conditions that put them at greater risk of contracting COVID-19.
San Antonio: Haven For Hope is the largest mixed-use development in the United States that provides housing for people experiencing homelessness, as well as job training, education, medical care, identification recovery, case management, and animal care services.
Sharon Crossing, N.C.: The Lotus Campaign is a non-profit organization that increases the availability of housing for people experiencing homelessness by engaging with the private, for-profit real estate and investment communities. Recognizing that neither the public nor private sector can solve homelessness alone, the Lotus Campaign strives to bridge that gap while minimizing risks for vulnerable renters.
San Francisco: The Bryant Street Project provides 145 apartments of permanent supportive housing near public transit, grocery stores, and community parks to ensure that residents have access to neighborhood amenities and services.
Washington: John and Jill Kerr Conway Residence provides housing constructed with sustainable materials as well as health and social services to veterans experiencing homelessness in collaboration with the U.S Department of Veterans Affairs.
Berkeley, Calif.: The project at 2012 Berkeley Way is a redevelopment of a surface parking lot in downtown Berkeley that will create three distinct projects – an 89-unit affordable family housing development; a 53-unit permanent supportive housing development; and a homeless shelter plus transitional housing – in one unified building.
The full Homeless to Housed report is available on ULI's Knowledge Finder platform.
About the Urban Land Institute
The Urban Land Institute is a non-profit education and research institute supported by its members. Its mission is to shape the future of the built environment for transformative impact in communities worldwide. Established in 1936, the institute has more than 45,000 members worldwide representing all aspects of land use and development disciplines.
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