Westside Capital Group Acquires Alabama’s Largest Multifamily for $100M

HOOVER, AL – The Miami-based, real estate investment holding firm, Westside Capital Group has acquired a 1,060-unit, garden-style multifamily property in Hoover, AL for nearly $100.8 million.

Situated on 101 acres at 2135 Centennial Dr. in the Birmingham suburb, The Park at Hoover serves as the largest apartment property in the state of Alabama.

In purchasing the class B property, Westside Capital Group split the asset into two separate acquisitions; utilizing two separate floating-rate loans to provide flexibility in its business plan.

Berkadia’s senior managing director, Charles Foschini and managing director, Chris Apone arranged a total of $75.6 million in financing on behalf of Westside Capital Group. For the buyer, Berkadia originated two, 10-year, floating rate, Freddie Mac-backed loans, comprising a $66.56 million loan for the property’s Phase I and a $9 million loan for Phase II.

Westside Capital Group intends to run the complex as a portfolio of three separate properties. The firm’s integrated institutional property management arm, WS Living, will manage the asset.

Westside Capital Group plans to invest in the property’s common areas and conduct capital improvements to evolve the property into an urban-like district. The firm will also evaluate additional development opportunities within the property.

The multifamily community’s amenities comprise four swimming pools, a fitness center, four tennis courts, a dog park, a playground and a clubhouse.

The Park at Hoover’s Phase I, built in 1987 and 1988, encompasses 920 units in the City of Hoover. Phase II includes 140 units in unincorporated Jefferson County, which were built in 1996.

“We see Alabama as a strategic market for Westside’s growth within the Southeastern US that we focus on, and we want to build a long-lasting reputation of excellence within the local marketplace,” states Jakub Hejl, founder and president of Westside Capital Group. “The timing of this investment demonstrates Westside’s capital strength to close large and complex transactions within tight timeframes.”

Berkadia’s senior managing director, David Oakley, senior director, David Wilson, associate director, Caleb Frizzell and director, Steve Nunnelley arranged the sale on behalf of the seller.

Berkadia’s Alabama team previously listed and sold the property in May 2015.

The previous property owners had initiated changes at the property, including updating the 6,685-square-foot clubhouse, exterior painting, amenities and renovating 10% of the unit interiors.

“Investor interest in The Park at Hoover was extremely high, although the scale of the asset limited the buyer pool to mostly large private equity groups and institutional owners,” states Wilson. “The massive size was particularly appealing to buyers new to Alabama as it would allow them to enter the market with scale. The property had been managed by Birmingham-based Arlington Properties, who did a great job maintaining the asset and managing the renovations.”

Regarding the financing, Foschini states, “The relationship with the agencies and our client continues to grow. Westside took a creative approach to value from inception by recognizing the differences in the asset and closing what was once run as one large property into two separate loans. Similarly, Freddie Mac, in this case, provided extremely aggressive terms and a floating-rate loan, which provides both an enviable rate and immense flexibility in terms of a future sale or refinance.”

The acquisition represents Westside Capital Group’s second investment in a large-scale development. In 2019, the firm acquired 128 acres of land in Orlando, FL, with plans to develop 6,000 residential units and 350,000 square feet of commercial space.