LA-based Nimes Capital snapped up a three-property multifamily/student housing portfolio in an off-market deal adding 810 units (bringing the total to more than 1,100 units) less than a mile from the Austin CBD. Nimes director of real estate Nitin Chexal (left, with VP of construction Tony Gupta) tells us the assets have been rebranded as The Ballpark West and The Zone at East End. The deal was brokered by FourPoint Student Housing Investments’ Chris Epp, Chris Bancroft, Meredith Wolff and Kevin Dufour. As part of Nimes’ upgrade program, there is a focus on enhancing existing common area amenities and state-of-the-art technology to enhance the tenant experience. Nitin tells us the team is looking to bring elements of hospitality into multifamily/student housing because today’s Millennials place a high degree of importance on the quality of amenities and common-area programming.
The new acquisitions join a previously acquired property, The Ballpark at Austin, directly north of this portfolio. Nimes (led by CEO David Nazarian) now controls 85 acres of contiguous property in the East Riverside submarket. Nitin tells us he’s not aware of any other cash-flowing land assemblage this large so close to the CBD. In the long run, having the 85 acres presents a significant opportunity for vertical redevelopment. That's especially exciting in light of the city’s recent comments about increasing density allowances and relaxing height restrictions in order to improve the supply/demand balance for rental product, Nitin tells us. The firm has plans to continue acquiring assets in Texas. In April, it acquired 1,100 units of multifamily in the Spring Branch submarket of Houston.
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