Toronto Firm Betting Strong on North Atlanta

ATLANTA—A Toronto investor just snapped up a prime multifamily asset. Emma Capital Investments acquired Valencia Park Apartments, a 508–unit garden style multifamily community in the Peachtree Corners submarket of Atlanta, for $28.2 million.

“The property is located a short drive from Technology Park Atlanta, and our strategy is to attract the employees at the park as our new potential tenants for the upgraded units,” says Haya Zilberboim, founding partner and co-owner of Emma. “Further, the area is undergoing an economic boost including the current redevelopment of a 125-acre site into a $1 billion new movie studio, and the planned major multi-use redevelopment of the 165-acre GM plant in Doraville, as well as numerous corporate expansions and relocations, resulting in the addition of thousands of new jobs in the area."

The multifamily property sits on about 51 acres. Amenities include a swimming pool with sun deck, a clubhouse, and a fitness facility. Emma plans to refresh and modernize the clubhouse and other amenities and improve landscaping and the curb appeal, as well as increase the multifamily property's value through a unit interior value-add program.

“The addition of this property further strengthens our growing portfolio in the region, and demonstrates Emma Capital's access to investment opportunities and reflects its reputation for successfully negotiating and executing transactions,” says Oz Cohen, partner and co-owner of Emma. “Emma Capital continues to seek responsible value-add opportunities in growth markets in the United States.”

The multifamily purchase is Emma's second acquisition in North Atlanta within the last three months and its seventh purchase in the US. When the ink dries on the deal, it gives Emma about 2,000 multifamily units in the United States.

With class A multifamily assets—and land in prime development locations—becoming harder to find across the Southeast and beyond, some are starting to venture into secondary markets. Indeed, across the nation some investors are even looking at class B assets and developers are looking at broader submarkets where there is a clear demand for multifamily rentals.

“Markets have always been viewed based on the size of their MSA, so larger cities were considered primary,” Ella Shaw Neyland, president of Steadfast REIT, tells GlobeSt.com. “But today, markets are being viewed by the rate that jobs are being created since jobs are the major drivers of demand for apartments. You get a job—you need a place to live.”

Atlanta is hitting on all multifamily cylinders and investors are flocking there. RADCO closed on $350 million of multifamily assets in 2014, many of which were in Atlanta. Steadfast REIT is also spending big on Atlanta multifamily.