New Boston Fund Adds Two Apartment Complexes to Portfolio

BOSTON-In a move back to its traditional investment focus, New Boston Fund has picked up apartment communities in South Carolina and Maryland in transactions valued at more than $46 million. Phil Bakulchuk, New Boston's senior vice president of acquisitions, tells GlobeSt.com the properties, a 386-unit apartment community in Laurel, MD and a 296-unit complex in East Charlotte, SC, signal a return by the investment fund to its roots. "Our company has evolved from its original use as residential into a company of commercial properties, but over the tail end of this business cycle we have been moving back to our traditional property types."

The $7.5-million acquisition of the Casa Bella Apartments in East Charlotte marks the firm's first residential purchase in that market done in partnership with Advenir Inc. of Miami. The Muirfield at Montpelier complex sits on 17.63 acres just outside of Washington, DC and was 96% occupied at the time of $38.6-million sale. Both properties, whose sellers were not disclosed, will undergo extensive renovations, according to Bakulchuk.

"These deals will continue to build our presence up in one of our strongest and most attractive markets," Bakulchuk says. "It diversifies some of the class A products we have by adding to the portfolio with more stable work force-oriented housing."

The fund still plans to invest in commercial properties, especially in Florida where it is planning some office and residential buys, Bakulchuk says. New Boston already has a foothold in Florida where it is building about 1,500 condominium units and plans an additional $3-million to $4-million investment in real estate from New Boston's Fund VI, he adds. The locally based firm also is working on an urban infill job-creation fund that will create work force housing and jobs for its occupants. It also plans a future fund that will target all property types in areas that include Washington, DC and Florida.