
NEW CASTLE – A New Jersey-based real estate investment firm recently acquired The Garrison apartment complex for $30.6 million, the largest multi-family deal in Delaware this year, according to county land records.
The four-building, 120-unit complex was only completed last year by Pennsylvania builder Pennrose, which sold the property to Goldcrest Properties, a firm that owns and manages roughly 900 multi-family units in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. This is its first property in Delaware.
Pennrose reported an estimated $20 million development cost, meaning it found a roughly 50% return on its investment.
Mark Dambly, president of Pennrose LLC, told Delaware Business Times that pandemic did not play a part in its decision to sell the relatively new asset.
“Pennrose was committed to The Garrison and the New Castle community since we began the development several years ago. We enjoyed our development experience in New Castle and would certainly consider future opportunities,” he said in an email.
Dambly said the offer from Goldcrest was the “result of a broad marketing effort and speaks to the desirability of Delaware and more specifically the city of New Castle as a destination and a place to live and work.”
He added that he didn’t have additional insights into Goldcrest’s plans for the market. Attempts to reach Goldcrest leaders this week were unsuccessful.
The Garrison is the first new apartment complex built in the area in nearly a decade, and the modern complex features one- or two-bedroom units ranging from $1,365 to $1,709 a month. It offers a variety of amenities, including a fitness center, community club room, billiards room, pet spa, covered parking, and a roof deck with a view of the Delaware River, fire pits, and a grill/bar area.
The development also has 1,750 square feet of retail space on the ground floor along West 7th Street.