ORLANDO, FL—Philadelphia-based Equus Capital Partners, Ltd. has acquired a three-property multifamily portfolio in Central Florida from affiliates of Oculus Development, LLC and Alex. Brown Realty, Inc.

The acquisition of this three property multifamily portfolio was made on behalf of BPG Investment Partnership IX, L.P. (Fund IX), Equus' $310-million private equity fund. No financial terms of the transaction were released.

The communities traded to Equus are the Village at East Lake, the Village at Lake Ned and the Village at Park Road and total 710 units. The portfolio was 95% occupied at the time of closing. Madison Apartment Group, L.P., the multifamily operating arm of Equus, will manage the communities for the new ownership.

Village at East Lake is the largest of the three properties and is located near the intersection of Routes 50 and 27 in Clermont, about 25 miles from Orlando. The 250-unit garden style community has been renamed Madison Clermont. It includes a mixture of one, two and three bedroom apartments with an average unit size of 1,031 square feet. Onsite amenities consist of a pool, tennis and basketball courts, fitness center, playground and a lake.

Village at Lake Ned is a 212-unit garden style apartment community in Winter Haven that also contains a mixture of one, two and three bedroom apartments with onsite amenities including a fitness and business center, pool, volleyball, tennis and basketball courts and immediate access to Lake Ned. It has been renamed Madison Lake Ned. Village at Park Road is located in Plant City. The 248-unit community has been renamed Madison Park Road and offers a mixture of one, two and three bedroom apartment homes with the same onsite amenities as its sister communities.

Equus officials say the firm over the next few months will invest nearly $4 million to improve the portfolio, including a comprehensive rebranding and repositioning of the communities. The improvements will include upgrading the interiors including new appliances, countertops, cabinets, flooring, lighting and fixtures. Dog parks will be added at each of the communities and the existing amenities will be dramatically improved as well.

Steve Pogarsky, head of multifamily acquisitions for Equus, says, “We continue to seek portfolio and single asset acquisitions in primary and secondary markets nationwide in an effort to expand our nationwide footprint.”

Equus' portfolio consists of more than 24 million square feet of office, retail and industrial properties and nearly 17,000 apartment units in more than 65 communities located throughout the United States. The firm is headquartered in the Philadelphia area with regional offices in Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington DC, Boston, Atlanta and Raleigh-Durham.