Continental Realty Corporation Fund acquires two separate multi-family communities totaling nearly 400 apartment units in White Marsh for $58.25 million

Continental Realty Corporation, a Baltimore-based real estate investment and management company, has acquired two multi-family apartment communities in the White Marsh section of Baltimore County, Maryland in separate transactions for a combined $58.25 million. The communities, which cumulatively contain nearly 400 apartment units, were both acquired from Henderson Global/TIAA-CREF on behalf of CRC Fund III, L.P., which focuses on buying value-add retail and multi-family properties in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast regions. CRC Fund III, L.P. now owns ten properties with these purchases.

Leveraging a previous relationship, Continental Realty Corporation also purchased Chase Heritage, a 236-unit apartment community in Sterling, Virginia from Henderson Global for $42.5 million in 2012. Last month, the fund acquired Creekside Crossing, a 60,500 square foot neighborhood shopping center located in Raleigh, representing the company’s inaugural acquisition in the North Carolina marketplace.

The $29.125 million acquisition of Lincoln Woods was for a 204-unit apartment community located at 1 Lincoln Woods Way. The second acquisition of Quail Ridge, a 192-unit apartment community consisting of 192 units and located at 4805 Berry Hill Circle was also for $29.125 million. Both of these apartment communities are located less than one mile from the heart of White Marsh, including White Marsh Mall and The Avenue at White Marsh. Continental Realty Corporation intends to invest in a renovation and improvement strategy for both communities to upgrade the interior and exterior portions of the communities. This investment is designed to improve the properties, add value and increase the rents while also meeting the desires of the prospective residents in the area.

Constructed in 1986, Lincoln Woods is comprised of eleven three-story apartment buildings that includes an outdoor pool, resident clubhouse/leasing office and dog park. The exterior of the structures consist of vinyl and brick siding.

   Quail Ridge, constructed in 1987, consists of eight three-story apartment buildings with an outdoor pool, clubhouse/leasing office and children’s playground. The buildings feature painted cedar siding.

                  “Baltimore County, and the White Marsh sub-market in particular, continues to exhibit strong growth in the retail and commercial office sectors and features healthy economic fundamentals across the board,” explained Gene Parker, President of Continental Realty Corporation. “New residential communities have leased extremely quickly and we are tracking several new developments that will increase retail and office densities in the immediate area. Our research indicates long-term and consistent demand for quality apartment units in White Marsh and these two new assets provide us with additional inventory to capture additional market share.”

                  “We have now reached 8,000 apartment units under ownership and management,” said JM Schapiro, CEO of Continental Realty Corporation. “This large base and critical mass of properties enables to continue to reinvest in our properties, our use of technology and our CR University, and provide on-going opportunities for our employees as we continue to grow the company. We have executed this value-add strategy at other properties and believe these two apartment communities can be repositioned with an interior renovation program.”

                  Continental Realty Corporation, headquartered in Baltimore and founded in 1960, is a full-service commercial real estate investment and management company. The privately-owned firm manages a diversified portfolio of commercial office buildings and retail centers consisting of more than three million square feet of space, as well as apartment home communities featuring more than 8,000 multi-family homes. Positioned throughout the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast portions of the United States, the value of the portfolio exceeds $1 billion. For additional information, visit www.crcrealty.com