Newmark Arranges Sale and Financing of 210-Unit Value-Add Multifamily Property in East Austin, Texas

May 12, 2022 8:00 AM

Newmark has completed the sale and financing of The Sofia Apartments, a 210-unit value-add multifamily property located minutes from downtown Austin, Texas. The property traded from Dallas-based Lion Real Estate Group and Los Angeles-based Marble Partners Management, LLC to New York-based investment firm RockFarmer Properties. Newmark Senior Managing Director Jim Young and Director Chase Easley represented the seller in the transaction. Newmark Vice Chairman Matt Greer and Vice President Andrew Wilson helped arrange the financing from lender Bridge Investment Group on behalf of the buyer.

“The Sofia’s excellent location minutes from downtown Austin in the fast-growing East Riverside district presented investors with a value-add opportunity that was attractive to both institutional and private buyers alike,” said Young. “The asset’s proximity to major employers, including the Oracle and Tesla headquarters, positions The Sofia as a desirable alternative to more expensive downtown living options.”

The property’s premier location along the booming East Riverside corridor is just minutes from downtown Austin, Lady Bird Lake and Austin-Bergstrom International Airport. The property is less than one mile from Oracle’s new Austin headquarters campus and proximate to other major area employers including Google, Facebook, Cirrus Logic, Silicon Laboratories and Whole Foods. Additionally, residents of The Sofia are within minutes of some of the city’s most exciting mixed-use developments, including River Park, Saltillo District and Music Lane.

“The property was financed by Bridge Investment Group in an environment where rates and uncertainty have been constant talking points,” said Wilson. “All parties worked diligently to develop a favorable execution on this deal and RockFarmer Properties is primed to capitalize on an incredible opportunity in a fast-growing submarket just minutes from downtown.”

The Sofia is located at 2201 Willow Creek Drive in Austin. Built in 1973 and 1983 and renovated in 2019, the property features a mix of one- and two-bedroom units with an average unit size of 723 square feet. Unit interiors feature private balconies and patios, hardwood-style flooring and upgraded kitchens with energy efficient appliances and granite countertops. Community amenities include a pool, outdoor barbeque and picnic area, updated clubhouse with business center, fitness center, lighted basketball court and fenced-in dog park. The new ownership plans to rebrand the property and complete additional upgrades to the unit interiors and common area amenities.

About Lion Real Estate Group, LLC
Lion Real Estate Group is a vertically integrated real estate investment firm founded in 2007 by Jeff Weller and Mory Barak. Lion Real Estate Group focuses on acquisition of value-add and opportunistic multifamily and creative office properties by leveraging its principals’ experience in order to create value for its investors through renovation, repositioning, better management and optimum capitalization of its properties. Lion has an entrepreneurial team that possesses a track record in the execution of sophisticated investment strategies and has been a part of more than $1.5 billion of joint venture, equity and mezzanine real estate transactions. The firm currently owns and operates 5,480 units across twenty-four multifamily properties and two office properties located in the Los Angeles, Nashville, Denver, Dallas, Austin, Atlanta and Salt Lake City areas. Lion Real Estate is currently investing out of their LREG Multifamily Fund II, a $250M discretionary multifamily fund.

About Marble Partners Management, LLC
Marble Partners Management LLC is a real estate investment company founded in 2018 by Peter Hagist and focuses on the acquisition of value-add and opportunistic multifamily properties. Peter has 19 years of experience in real estate and has completed over 100 transactions in various asset classes with an emphasis on value-add multifamily. To date, the firm has completed 34 acquisitions, totaling 8,068 units and $1.7B in total capitalization.

About Newmark
Newmark Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: NMRK), together with its subsidiaries (“Newmark”), is a world leader in commercial real estate, seamlessly powering every phase of the property life cycle. Newmark’s comprehensive suite of services and products is uniquely tailored to each client, from owners to occupiers, investors to founders, and startups to blue-chip companies. Combining the platform’s global reach with market intelligence in both established and emerging property markets, Newmark provides superior service to clients across the industry spectrum. Newmark generated revenues of nearly $3.1 billion for the twelve months ending March 31, 2022. Newmark’s company-owned offices, together with its business partners, operate from approximately 170 offices with 6,300 professionals around the world. To learn more, visit nmrk.com or follow @newmark.

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