CROWN BAY GROUP SELLS TWO WORKFORCE HOUSING COMMUNITIES FOR $23 MILLION
Transactions exceed proforma following short, pandemic holds.
ATLANTA — Crown Bay Group, LLC (Crown Bay), an Atlanta-based multifamily real estate investment firm, announces the sale of two metro Atlanta workforce housing communities. In Atlanta, Soundview Equities LLC acquired Cascade Oaks for $12.4 million on November 23. In Morrow, Ga., Pines of Southlake was acquired by RW Equities for $10.5 million in a transaction that closed in October. No additional transaction details are available.
“In 2020, CBG took an opportunistic, yet discerning approach to investing given the market conditions caused by the pandemic,” notes Steve Firestone, founder and principal, Crown Bay Group. “We believed that lucrative investing opportunities still existed and navigated the uncertain market to find those assets.”
In August 2020, Crown Bay took advantage of an off-market opportunity to acquire Pines of Southlake at a risk-adjusted price of $6.4 million with the intent to hold for up to five years. Under its ownership, the firm implemented streamlined operations strategies and improved the property repairing the parking lots and pool and renovating the leasing and management office. At the time of the sale, the 93-unit community was 98 percent leased. Pines of Southlake is located at 985 Mt. Zion Rd. and features two- and three-bedroom, garden-style apartments and townhomes.
“The opportunity to earn a significant return for our investors really drove our decision to sell the assets early,” explains Firestone. “These transactions exemplify the historical stability of the workforce housing asset class – ranking it as one of the most recession-proof investment products out there.”
Crown Bay acquired Cascade Oaks in January 2020 for $8.3 million. Nearly a quarter-million dollars of capital improvements upgraded unit interiors and improved operational standards taking the community from 94 percent-leased to 99 percent, at the time of sale. The 113-unit property is located at 3820 Old Cascade Rd. SW in Atlanta and offers one- and two-bedroom apartments.
“We are fortunate to have access to many off-market opportunities and the agility to capitalize on them when the assets meet our investing criteria,” states Firestone. “Workforce housing is where we believe the greatest potential to yield safe and profitable returns for our investors, exists.”
About Crown Bay Group, LLC
Founded in 2013, Crown Bay Group is a privately-held real estate investment and asset management firm based in Atlanta. The firm specializes in the acquisition, operation, management and disposition of multifamily properties throughout the Southeast. Since its inception, Crown Bay has owned and operated a multifamily portfolio of 3,655 units valued at more than $270 million.
