Blackwood Terrace at 71 Lakeland Road in Blackwood — Courtesy: Berkadia
By Joshua Burd
Penn Properties has sold a 208-unit garden apartment portfolio in Gloucester Township for $23 million, in a newly announced deal by Berkadia.
According to the brokerage team, the transaction includes three properties in the town’s Blackwood section that had a combined occupancy of 85 percent at the time of the sale. They include Blackwood Falls at 227 Washington Ave., Blackwood Terrace at 71 Lakeland Road and Foxcroft Apartments at 440 North Black Horse Pike.
Berkadia Senior Managing Director Nat Gambuzza and Senior Director Trevor Fiebel of the firm’s Morristown-based team represented the seller and procured the buyer, Silverstone Properties. They noted the sale price equates to $110,576 per unit, adding that Blackwood Falls and Blackwood Terrace both had low-leverage agency debt that was assumed by the purchaser.
“This was a challenging transaction to get across the finish line due to the loan assumption process which took several months,” Gambuzza said. “Our team was creative in navigating a structure that kept both the buyer and seller engaged in the process, while there were so many outside forces involved that made this transaction difficult. From the time we entered into contract through the closing, there were so many changes that took place within the (government-sponsored enterprises), and the servicers tremendously slowed down our process. All of this needed to be managed during gyrations in interest rates, occupancy levels and managerial friction.”
In announcing the deal, Berkadia noted that the renters at the properties have easy access to Camden, Philadelphia and other major destinations in the area.
“The purchaser, Silverstone Properties, is a new buyer in the Camden County market, which saw value repositioning the assets,” Fiebel said. “The vacancy was viewed as an opportunity to implement their business plan immediately following closing, which involves a value-add renovation schedule in order to stabilize the assets while also increasing revenue.”
