BALTIMORE, MD - Funds managed by Ares Management and investment partner TruAmerica Multifamily announced the acquisition of a 1,402-unit multifamily portfolio in suburban Baltimore for $236 million.
The portfolio consists of residential units spread across six properties located in some of the strongest multifamily sub-markets in the greater Baltimore metropolitan market: Dominion at Eden Brook and Dominion Kings Place in Columbia, Lakeside Mill in Owings Mills, Ellicott Grove in Ellicott City, Arborview at Riverside and Liriope in Belcamp, and Dominion Constant Friendship in Abingdon.
The properties are well-located near major military, government and corporate employers in the area. While maintained to institutional quality standards, approximately 50 percent of the units in the portfolio are slated to be renovated, offering a significant value-add opportunity. The partnership will implement a multi-million dollar renovation and repositioning program across the entire portfolio. Exterior upgrades will consist of significant landscaping, painting and refreshing of building exteriors, updated signage and common area updates. The residential units will be renovated to include new appliance packages, faux-wood hard-surface flooring, new countertops and upgrades to existing cabinets.
“We have been looking to work with TruAmerica, an experienced partner, for a long time and are excited we found this opportunity to create significant value in an attractive portfolio of geographically-diverse Baltimore metropolitan area assets,” commented Steven Wolf, Partner in Ares Management’s Real Estate Group. “This investment is representative of our U.S. equity value-add strategy, which focuses on areas with strong employment centers and unit-enhancement opportunities.”
“This portfolio was brought to us as part of a strategic marketing campaign, where only buyers with proven track records and strong reputations were considered. Ares and TruAmerica proved to be an unbeatable partnership of financial strength and certainty of execution," said TruAmerica President and CEO Robert E. Hart.
The Ares Real Estate Group, with approximately $10.4 billion in assets under management across equity and debt strategies, has a significant presence in the multifamily sector. Over the past decade, Ares’ U.S. equity value-add strategy has invested in over 27,000 units across its most recent funds.
This is the second significant investment for TruAmerica in the region since entering the market five months ago with the $187 million acquisition of three apartment communities in Baltimore and Annapolis totaling 1,004 units. With the acquisition of the Baltimore Residential portfolio, TruAmerica now has more than 32,000 multifamily units under management with 2,400 in Maryland.