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Multifamily real estate investment trust UDR closed on a $530M joint venture with LaSalle Investment Management and contributed four properties with more than 1,300 units to the partnership.
The REIT expects to receive $250M in cash proceeds from the deal, according to a press release. UDR retains 51% of the ownership and will also act as the property manager for the four sites.
UDR CEO Tom Toomey said the joint venture could help the REIT unlock new capital sources, especially as high interest rates and refinancing woes shake up the rest of the market.
"We are pleased to establish a new joint venture with such a high-quality partner," Toomey said in the release. “Additionally, the venture expands UDR’s strategy of diversifying among capital sources that provide the Company the ability to execute accretive investment opportunities across economic and market cycles.”
The four properties are the 284-unit Hawthorne Apartments in Seattle, the 320-unit Los Alisos at Mission Viejo in Orange County, California, the 364-unit Lodge at Ames Pond in Boston, and the 360-unit Signal Hill Apartments in Washington, D.C. On average, the apartments are 97.6% occupied, and the average monthly rent sits at $2,513.
For any new purchases made through the joint venture, UDR will earn acquisition fees. For LaSalle, the partnership is an opportunity to enter these markets, which have high barriers to entry for outside investors, according to the release.
In May, apartment REITs like UDR said that new investment opportunities might be unlocked, as smaller regional competitors are less likely to get financing on projects in the shaky banking landscape. The REITs, which don't heavily rely on institutional financing, could scoop up these development sites and begin their own projects.
UDR owns 58,000 apartment units across the country, including 514 homes under development. LaSalle manages $78B in assets globally, including private and public real estate as well as debt investments.
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