L.A. investor buys Avent Ferry student housing, plans upgrades and higher density
A Los Angeles-based real estate investor has bought the 199-unit University Apartments student housing community off of Avent Ferry Road near the Centennial and central campuses of North Carolina State University.
The low-density town home and duplex housing may be redeveloped to medium density through a rezoning request, the investor said. The Avent Ferry Road Corridor Study, which the city approved in September after a public process in motion for over a year, supports the rezoning.
After surveys and community meetings, the study called for changes to Raleigh’s future land use map, which includes recommendations to address urban sprawl.
A part of the study calls for higher density zoning for residential, retail and office space near the highly trafficked Avent Ferry corridor, which is used by more than 22,000 vehicles per day, according to the city.
“[The study] shows a map that specifically calls out our land to be upzoned to medium density,” said Ryan Hall, managing principal of multifamily-property investor Magma Equities. “The city really wants this to be kind of a driver for the redevelopment along Avent Ferry.”
The Avent Ferry study sweetened the deal for Magma Equities’ $21.3 million purchase of the 22.5-acre residential development from the family-owned Raleigh real estate company Martin Properties, which developed the property in 1958 and has owned it since then.
“It made it all the more intriguing to us,” Hall said. “There’s additional potential upside to have a few different avenues to go down as soon as we dig into this project.”
Immediate plans for University Apartments for now are to fix up the older housing units and make minor changes to landscaping, signage and deferred maintenance work.
Remodeling work will happen as residents move out and will include new flooring, paint and countertops.
However, Hall said, “there’s the opportunity to potentially partner with a developer down the road that would allow us to build a five-story, brand new multifamily product.”
If a rezoning is granted, a potential development could be built out in phases as new five- to seven-story student housing buildings, Hall said.
“So we have a couple of different options, which is why we really loved the opportunity to purchase this,” Hall said. “We’re very bullish on the Triangle.”
The University Apartments acquisition is Magma Equities’ third investment in the Triangle this year. The company has also purchased the 144-unit Stone’s Throw apartments in Durham and the 199-unit Arbor Crest in Raleigh.
This story was originally published November 26, 2019 at 11:30 AM.
