OneWall Partners has sold a seven-building, 641-unit portfolio in Newark and Irvington for $72 million — Courtesy: OneWall Partners
By Joshua Burd
A multifamily investment firm has sold a seven-building, 641-unit portfolio in Newark and Irvington for $72 million, nearly doubling the price it paid for the properties in 2016.
The operator, OneWall Partners, announced the deal Thursday as it touted the sustained demand for transit-oriented, workforce housing both before and during the pandemic. A private investment group purchased the buildings, the locations of which were not disclosed.
“This sale highlights the enduring appeal of workforce housing in the Northeast as well as the continuing flight of capital out of New York City and other real estate asset classes into suburban multifamily,” said Nate Kline, partner with Newark-based OneWall Partners. “We anticipate that the transit and lifestyle-oriented housing we target in the Northeast will continue to outperform other markets and asset classes on a risk-adjusted basis.”
Gebroe-Hammer Associates’ David Oropeza, executive managing director, and David Jarvis, executive vice president, represented OneWall in the transaction, while Progress Capital Partner Brad Domenico arranged debt for the purchase. The deal comes about four and a half years after OneWall acquired the portfolio for $36.7 million, the firm said, noting that it increased the value of the assets through in-house management, leasing performance while sustaining affordable rent growth and strategic capital improvements and renovations.
The company has been focused on such properties since its founding nearly a decade ago. Along with walkable, transit-centric urban communities, OneWall also targets lifestyle-oriented suburban communities with value-add potential and proximity to major employment centers that contain unaffordable housing.
Executives say the firm is now redeploying capital to take advantage of evolving housing trends.
“A significant supply and demand imbalance continues to drive momentum toward workforce housing,” said Ron Kutas, also a partner with OneWall. “Our experience sourcing, financing, managing, repositioning and selling workforce housing assets allows us to successfully navigate shifting market dynamics.”
Investment firm has keyed on transit-centric, workforce housing in northern New Jersey
