REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT
Walker & Dunlop | July 01, 2022
Walker & Dunlop, Inc. announced that it facilitated the $92,000,000 sale of First Apartments, a luxury mid-rise apartment community ideally situated less than one mile from both Downtown Miami and Brickell in up-and-coming East Little Havana. Completed in late 2021, the community reached 90% occupancy by January 2022, reflecting an extraordinary initial leasing velocity of nearly 45 leases per month.
Walker & Dunlop's Still Hunter and Kaya Suarez represented the buyer, Lloyd Jones, and the seller, Premium Development, in the transaction. The Walker & Dunlop team acted as advisors and drove a competitive marketing process to ensure an attractive outcome for ownership. This sale represents the first transaction between all three parties as well as Premium Development's first U.S. multifamily project.
Since opening its doors in late September, First Apartments has enjoyed an increase in lease rates with recent leases signed for more than 25% above initial leases. With rental rates that are nearly $500 below communities with comparable finishes and amenities, First Apartments enjoys the enviable position as the best value in the local competitive set. The impressive lease-up performance is a testament to the appeal of the asset and its prime location, proximate to key demand drivers, entertainment venues, and transit routes."
Roger Karré, the Chief Operations Officer at Premium Development
"With the insatiable demand for moderately priced luxury rental options in South Florida, First Apartments meets the growing needs of Miami residents seeking value relative to Brickell and Downtown Miami's rental options," commented Mr. Hunter. "The new community is also an excellent investment opportunity given its proximity to Miami's commercial business district, boasting nearly 22 million square feet of office space and 125,000 jobs."
Developed with incredible attention to detail and a focus on smart design, First Apartments is the premier luxury rental option in East Little Havana. The community features spacious, luxuriously appointed apartment homes that are complemented by an excellent amenity package, including health club quality fitness facilities, a resort-style lap pool, an expansive bark park and various other lifestyle-enhancing amenities.
Walker & Dunlop is a leader in multifamily property sales, having completed $19.3 billion in property sales volume in 2021 alone, up 214% from 2020. Visit our website for information about multifamily properties available for sale via Walker & Dunlop's property sales platform.
About Walker & Dunlop
Walker & Dunlop is one of the largest providers of capital to the commercial real estate industry, enabling real estate owners and operators to bring their visions of communities — where Americans live, work, shop and play — to life. The power of our people, premier brand, and industry-leading technology makes us more insightful and valuable to our clients, providing an unmatched experience every step of the way. With more than 1,400 employees across every major U.S. market, Walker & Dunlop has consistently been named one of Fortune's Great Places to Work® and is committed to making the commercial real estate industry more inclusive and diverse while creating meaningful social, environmental, and economic change in our communities.
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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 INVESTMENT
The Ascott Limited | July 05, 2022
CapitaLand Investment Limited's (CLI) wholly owned lodging business unit, The Ascott Limited (Ascott) announced it is acquiring Oakwood Worldwide (Oakwood), a premier global serviced apartment provider, from Mapletree Investments Pte Ltd. The acquisition increases Ascott's global portfolio by 81 properties and about 15,000 units. Oakwood's approximately 8,500 operational units are expected to immediately contribute to Ascott's recurring fee income streams upon completion of the transaction slated in 3Q 2022.
Ascott's acquisition of Oakwood will leapfrog Ascott's global presence to more than 150,000 units in about 900 properties across over 200 cities in 39 countries. It will add new markets which include Cheongju in South Korea; Zhangjiakou and Qingdao in China; Dhaka in Bangladesh as well as Washington D.C. in the United States of America (USA). Recently named the 'Best Serviced Residence Brand' in DestinAsian Readers' Choice Awards 2022, Oakwood's award-winning portfolio includes flagship properties Oakwood Premier Tokyo and Oakwood Premier Coex Center Seoul which were ranked top 10 properties in their respective countries in the DestinAsian awards. New properties such as Oakwood Premier Melbourne and Oakwood Hotel Oike Kyoto, will also add to the group's destination highlights.
"This acquisition of Oakwood is part of Ascott's roadmap to playing a bigger role in the lodging market. There are significant synergies between Ascott and Oakwood, given our complementary footprint and product offerings. We intend to build on the strong reputation and heritage of the Oakwood brand, especially in markets across Southeast Asia, North Asia and North America. Oakwood will continue to grow alongside Ascott's current portfolio of global brands as we continue to build growth momentum for our lodging business. We will be able to leverage Ascott's extensive expertise as a global lodging player to deliver greater value to our expanded network of loyal customers and property owners. Besides strategic alignment, this acquisition is also notable to Ascott commercially. Ascott's acquisition of Oakwood brings about an immediate boost to our units under management and franchise contracts. The Oakwood portfolio will accelerate the growth of our asset-light business, with added recurring fee income streams, expanded lodging offerings and increased customer base. The strategic moves we have made in the last few years, such as our investments in Quest, Synergy and TAUZIA have charted an unprecedented growth path for Ascott."
-Mr Kevin Goh, CLI's Chief Executive Officer for Lodging.
Ascott's strategic investments in the past years include its acquisition of Quest Apartment Hotels (Quest), one of the largest serviced apartment operators in Australasia, in 2017 to grow its business franchise arm. In the same year, Ascott invested in Synergy Global Housing (Synergy), a leading corporate housing provider in the USA. In 2018, Ascott acquired TAUZIA Hotel Management (TAUZIA), one of the top hotel operators in Indonesia, to enter the fast-growing mid-scale business hotel segment. With Oakwood coming onboard, Ascott is confident of achieving its target of 160,000 units globally well ahead of 2023.
About The Ascott Limited-
The Ascott Limited (Ascott) is a Singapore company that has grown to be one of the leading international lodging owner-operators. Ascott's portfolio spans over 200 cities across over 30 countries in Asia Pacific, Central Asia, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the USA. Ascott has more than 81,000 operating units and over 54,000 units under development, making a total of more than 135,000 units in over 800 properties. The company's serviced apartment, coliving and hotel brands include Ascott The Residence, The Crest Collection, Somerset, Quest, Citadines, lyf, Préférence, Vertu, Harris, Citadines Connect, Fox, Yello, Fox Lite and POP!. Ascott's loyalty programme, Ascott Star Rewards, offers exclusive benefits to its members when they book directly with Ascott for their stays at its participating properties. Ascott, a wholly owned subsidiary of CapitaLand Investment Limited, pioneered Asia Pacific's first international-class serviced apartment with the opening of The Ascott Singapore in 1984. Today, the company boasts over 30 years of industry track record and award-winning brands that enjoy recognition worldwide.
About CapitaLand Investment Limited-
Headquartered and listed in Singapore, CapitaLand Investment Limited (CLI) is a leading global real estate investment manager (REIM) with a strong Asia foothold. As at 31 March 2022, CLI had about S$124 billion of real estate assets under management, and about S$86 billion of real estate funds under management (FUM) held via six listed real estate investment trusts and business trusts, and 29 private funds across the Asia-Pacific, Europe and USA. Its diversified real estate asset classes cover integrated developments, retail, office, lodging, business parks, industrial, logistics and data centres. CLI aims to scale its FUM and fee-related earnings through its full stack of investment management and operating capabilities. As the listed investment management business arm of the CapitaLand Group, CLI has access to the development capabilities of and pipeline investment opportunities from CapitaLand's development arm. Being a part of the well-established CapitaLand ecosystem differentiates CLI from other REIMs. As part of the CapitaLand Group, CLI places sustainability at the core of what it does. As a responsible real estate company, CLI contributes to the environmental and social well-being of the communities where it operates, as it delivers long-term economic value to its stakeholders.
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