BREIT ADDS TO VALLEY PORTFOLIO . . . ACQUIRES 1,751 APARTMENT UNITS IN $311 MILLION DEAL

Publish Date: 08-10-2018
Volume: XXIV
Number: 31

Photo Credit: JLL

Tempe/Chandler/Peoria/Glendale/Phoenix/Surprise – In a deal that is one of the largest total dollar amounts paid for a multi-family portfolio in the Valley in recent years, Blackstone Real Estate Investment Trust Inc. (BREIT) paid $311 million ($177,613 per unit blended average) to buy 1,751 apartments in six projects in the Phoenix area. The seller, through seven transactions, is a venture formed by DRA Advisors LLC in New York City, N.Y. (David Luski, CEO) and The Milestone Group in New York City, N.Y. (Jeffrey Goldberg, Robert Landin, co-managing partners). John Cunningham and Charles Steele of JLL in Phoenix brokered the portfolio deal. Public records show the buyers acquired the assets with a combined $200.683 million in Fannie Mae loans issued by Jones Lang LaSalle Multifamily LLC in St. Paul, Mn. The financing was arranged by Brandon Harrington and Matt Steffen, formerly of Walker & Dunlop LLC in Phoenix and now with Jones Lang LaSalle Multifamily in Phoenix. Over the past year and a half, BREIT has invested $649 million ($173,021 per unit blended average) to purchase 3,751 apartments in 12 Valley assets. The company also owns 192 multi-family units in Flagstaff.  Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust is a publicly-held, non-traded real estate investment trust that is externally managed by BX REIT Advisors LLC, a subsidiary of Blackstone Group L.P. in New York City (NYSE:BX). That global investment firm manages $450 billion in assets. BREIT is focused on acquiring stabilized commercial real estate across all key property types. In July 2012, BREW reported the DRA Advisors/Milestone venture paying $179.25 million ($102,781 per unit) to buy the six-property portfolio now owned by BREIT. That deal, which included a total of 1,744 apartments, grew by seven units after DRA Advisors/Milestone was able to buy seven residences in a community in Chandler that had been sold as individual condominiums. Here is a summary of the portfolio with the buying entity, purchase price, property name and description, selling entity and previous acquisition price: BREIT MF Finisterra LLC paid $63,230,154 to acquire the 356-unit Finisterra apartments built in 1996 at 1250 W. Grove Parkway in Tempe. The seller was G&I VII Finisterra LLC, which paid $35.25 million ($99,017 per unit) to buy the property; BREIT MF Lumiere Chandler LLC and Coyote Lumiere Chandler LLC paid $45,291,262 to acquire 255 units of the 320-unit Lumiere Chandler fractured condominium complex built in 1995 at 1100 N. Priest Drive in Chandler. The sellers were G&I VII Lumiere LLC, which paid $28 million ($112,903 per unit) to buy 248 units within the property and Blue Wolverine LLC, which later acquired 7 of the units; BREIT MF Peoria LLC paid $35,522,559 to acquire the 200-unit Waterford at Peoria apartments built in 2008 at 14109 N. 83rd Avenue in Peoria. G&I VII Waterford at Peoria LLC was the seller and paid $22 million ($110,000 per unit) to buy the project; BREIT MF Sierra Canyon LLC paid $41,916,619 million to acquire the 236-unit Sierra Canyon apartments built in 2000 at 17500 N. 67th Avenue in Glendale. G&I VII Sierra Canyon LLC was the seller and paid $22 million ($93,220 per unit) to buy the project; BREIT MF Sierra Foothills LLC paid $57,191,319 to acquire the 322-unit Sierra Foothills apartments built in 1999 at 13601 N. 44th Street in Phoenix. The seller was G&I VII Sierra Foothills LLC, which paid $27 million ($83,851 per unit) to buy the project, and BREIT MF Stadium Village LLC paid $67,848,087 to acquire The Residences at Stadium Village, a 382-unit apartment community built in 2009 at 16485 N. Stadium Way in Surprise. The seller was G&I VII Stadium Village LLC, which paid $45 million ($117,801 per unit) to buy the project. As of the first quarter 2018, Blackstone owned 73,000 apartments, 34 million sq. ft. of retail buildings, 136,000 hotel rooms and 66 million sq. ft. of industrial space located across the U.S. In its last Valley multi-family purchase completed in July, BREW reported BREIT paying $64.35 million ($225,000 per unit) to acquire the 286-unit Velaire at Aspera apartments at 7700 W. Aspera Boulevard in Glendale. Find out more from Frank Cohen of BREIT at (212) 583-3000. Adam Breen of DRA Advisors is at (212) 697-4740. Talk to Cunningham and Steele at (602) 282-6300.

Business Real Estate Weekly, Inc. is the publisher of Business Real Estate Weekly (BREW), a tip sheet newsletter that covers business and real estate activity in Arizona. Founded in 1995, BREW is a weekly publication focusing on new residential and commercial developments, the sale of income-producing properties and businesses relocating or expanding in Arizona. For those looking to have cutting edge information at their fingertips, BREW is the publication business professionals use to get the latest in commercial and residential real estate news in Arizona. Known for it's accurate, timely and independently researched information, BREW has been called "The Bible" for its detailed, first hand reporting on business and real estate deals in Arizona. With more than 23 years of stories and news items in our archives, Business Real Estate Weekly has the longest period of chronicled history of all business and real estate news sources in the Valley. With the newly-added multiple search capabilities in our archives, BREW is a must have for anyone researching real estate in Arizona or simply following the market.