FCP Closes on Park Berkshire Acquisition

[IMGCAP(1)]FORESTVILLE, MD-Federal Capital Partners, a local firm that has made repositioning value-add multifamily communities one of its specialties, has just closed on a 598-unit complex here. According to a source, FCP paid above $50,000 per unit for the property, which is located on 28 acres and stretches out to encompass 22 two-and-three story buildings.

The seller was Rimsi Corp., based in Bethesda. Rimsi was represented by Coldwell Banker Commercial Ideal Realty Group.

[IMGCAP(2)]FCP is planning a $14-million rehab of the properties, which are located at 6311 Pennsylvania Ave. The upgrades, which are scheduled to start immediately, will include improving all of the common areas and upgrading the systems and finishes. Park Berkshire Apartments was developed in two phases during the 1960s. The seller acquired the property in the 1980s.

The credit crunch has had the expected affect on this slice of the commercial real estate market. Lacy I. Rice, FCP partner tells GlobeSt.com that “the financing market is getting more difficult and the impact on pricing has yet to be seen. Many of the high leveraged buyers that were often most aggressive in ’06 and ’07 are no longer as active.

Still, though, Dean Sigmon, team leader at Coldwell Banker–which has brokered most of the major multifamily trades here in recent years–tells GlobeSt.com that despite the credit crunch there is still significant demand for value add multifamily product here. “There are still funds available–we are still seeing a significant interest in these types of properties.”

The property was purchased by a subsidiary of FCP Fund I LP, FCP’s recently formed private equity fund. Currently, the fund has in excess of $600 million in purchasing power for real estate assets in the mid-Atlantic region. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., through its Real Estate Merchant Banking Group, provided a first mortgage loan for the acquisition.