KING OF PRUSSIA, PA—Locally-based Morgan Properties has acquired a 2,700-unit multifamily portfolio in Maryland and Virginia for $309 million. The company partnered with the Saudi Arabia-based Olayan Group in the transaction.

Berkshire Property Advisors was the seller of the portfolio, which was selectively marketed by CBRE. Financing was provided by Freddie Mac.

The Mid-Atlantic Portfolio consists of nine separate apartment communities located in Fort Washington, Hyattsville, Laurel and Parkville, MD and in Newport News, VA. There are seven garden-style apartment communities constructed between 1964 and 1972 and two high-rise apartment buildings built in 1964 and 1986. The largest asset is Harbor Place, a 606-unit apartment community located in Fort Washington three miles from the National Harbor.

The deal is solidly in Morgan Properties' wheelhouse, Jonathan Morgan, director of Acquisitions and Capital Markets at Morgan Properties, tells GlobeSt.com—that is, it is a value-add, repositioning. The company plans to invest a significant amount in a renovation, Morgan says, to bring up even further the portfolio's 95% occupancy rate.

The transaction also illustrates how important the Mid-Atlantic—and lately, Maryland—has become to the company. "We are very active in Maryland and with this deal we have basically doubled our presence there."

The company currently has another multifamily asset in the state under contract for around $85 million. This region, Morgan says, "represents a great buying opportunity, especially with rates as low as they are." In particular class B assets, which tend to escape the radar of larger institutional investors, are particularly attractive right now, he says.