RALEIGH, NC—Passco Cos. is on a Raleigh roll, grabbing its fourth multifamily property in the North Carolina's Raleigh-Durham region. Passco just snapped up The Columns at Wakefield for $38.8 million.
“The Research Triangle area encompassing the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill markets continues to demonstrate its strength as an investment target, making this property exactly aligned with our ongoing Next X investment strategy,” says Larry Sullivan, president at Passco. “The key is, rather than looking solely at top-performing markets over the past 10 years, we identify and invest in markets that we believe are likely to be top performers over the next 10 years.”
Acquiring the 324-unit asset brings Passco's total multifamily investment into the region to $135 million in the past year. Why all the interest in Raleigh-Durham? Sullivan hinted at it but his colleague brings more clarity to the strategy.
As Ogal Claspell, vice president of realty investments at Passco, sees it, Raleigh-Durham is poised to be a top performing market. He says local universities will drive renter growth among students and young professionals, while the area's Research Triangle Park remains a catalyst for future population and job growth.
“This is a market that already benefits from above average fundamentals,” says Claspell. “As one of the largest research parks in the world, Research Triangle Park employs more than 38,000 full time employees, and is expected to employ more than 100,000 in the coming years. In addition, median household income within three miles of The Columns at Wakefield apartment homes is currently $75,453, which is much higher than the national average.”
With all this in mind, Passco expects the class A Columns at Wakefield property to attract strong rental demand throughout its anticipated seven- to 10-year hold. During that time, Gary Goodman, senior vice president of acquisitions at Passco, says the company plans to complete renovations to “maximize value and further drive renter demand for the property.”
Planned renovations include installing vinyl wood plank flooring, ceiling fans, modern plumbing fixtures, track lighting and new microwaves. Improvements to shared amenities, including the clubhouse and a new cyberlounge and pet spa, are also planned. Built in 2003, Columns at Wakefield offers one-, two- and three-bedroom units, ranging from 587 to 1,425 square feet.
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