WILMINGTON – A New Jersey real estate investment firm recently became the latest out-of-state investor to crack the $100 million mark after acquiring more than 700 apartment units in the Edgemoor area.
Capital Management, an owner-operator of multifamily complexes primarily in New Jersey, recently acquired the Colony and Colony North apartments off East Lea Boulevard for a combined $69.55 million, according to county land records.
Last year, Capital entered the Delaware market by acquiring the Spring Crossings apartment complex in Glasgow for $56 million – the largest multi-family sale in the state for the year. The Lakewood, N.J.-based firm has kept a low profile like other New Jersey-based investors that have increasingly acquired Delaware assets, such as Oakmark Management, Montium, Goldcrest Properties and more.
The Colony apartments are divided into the original Colony and subsequent Colony North communities.
The original 51-year-old community at 7 Colony Blvd. was acquired for $20.3 million from Colony Boulevard Partners, a limited liability company with ties to New York City. It features all one-bedroom units with monthly rents of $1,025, according to online listings. With 430 units, the sale price translates to a per unit cost of more than $47,000.
The smaller 43-year-old Colony North community located at 19 E. Lea Blvd. was acquired for $49.25 million from Colony North LLC, which is linked to the Paul family locally. It now features three-bedroom units with monthly rents of $1,695, according to online listings. With 311 units, the sale price translates to a per unit cost of more than $158,000.
The community also offers an Olympic-sized pool, baby pool, exercise rooms, sun decks, tennis courts, and a lounge with bar and kitchen.
Capital Management did not respond to a request for comment on the sale and its recent investments in Delaware.
Multi-family sales, especially in the Wilmington and Newark areas, continue to be one of the hottest asset classes for commercial real estate sales in Delaware right now. The sales have increased following the pandemic, and could continue as homebuyer interest falls amid higher residential home prices and rising mortgage interest rates, leading more people to continue renting.
Last year, six of the top 10 commercial real estate sales were in multi-family residential assets, according to Delaware Business Times research. Through August of this year, that trend has held, and the largest sales would be largely overtaken by multi-family assets if it wasn’t for Amazon-linked warehouse sales that hold the Top 3 spots.
