NEWARK – Another apartment complex near the University of Delaware campus changed hands just before the new year, as a Pennsylvania-based firm expanded its portfolio in the First State.
Wright Multifamily, a real estate investment, management and development firm located in Springfield, Pa., acquired the 103-unit Victoria Mews Apartments off South Main Street for $7.67 million on Dec. 28, according to county land records. The sale translates to a per unit cost of about $74,500.
The community was sold by Hockessin-based Delaware Valley Development Company (DVDC), which bought the property in 2006 for $7.3 million – meaning it netted just a small return on its initial investment.
In 2007, DVDC undertook a substantial rehabilitation of the affordable housing community that received a then-record state tax credit to assist with development. The housing project received funding support from at least five different public funds and was the first in Delaware where the state, county and local municipality provided financing support.
Wright Multifamily already owns five communities in Delaware, including Cynwyd Club in Pike Creek, the River Club in Claymont, Kirkwood Crossing in Wilmington, Greenlawn and Middletown Manor apartments in Middletown, and Seachase in Greenwood. It also owns and manages communities in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
Wright and DVDC have worked together on deals previously, with the Pennsylvania firm acquiring the Cynwyd Club Apartments from DVDC in 2021.
Wright has invested in prior low-income housing tax credit communities and has converted prior subsidized housing complexes into market-rate communities. It operates both conventional market-rate and affordable-income communities
A request for comment to Wright Multifamily regarding the sale and future plans for the complex was not returned.
The Victoria Mews sale is comparatively small to sums fetched for other, newer Newark-area apartment complexes, led by One Easton off Main Street that was sold for $73 million, leading all multifamily sales statewide in 2022.
Other complexes near the UD campus sold last year included Apartments at Pine Brook ($63 million), Christina Mill ($49 million), and Southgate Gardens ($19 million).
