Real Estate Alert
July , 2021
Accesso Partners has made its first investments in the
multi-family sector, backing two development projects in
the Carolinas as it expands beyond its traditional focus on
offices.
In recent weeks, the Hallandale Beach, Fla., firm invested
$25 million of equity via a joint venture that’s developing a
200-unit active-adult community in Charlotte and a 264-unit
workforce-housing property in Greer, S.C. Accesso’s partner is
Proffitt Dixon Partners, a multi-family investment and development
shop in Charlotte.
The investments coincide with Accesso’s launch of a multifamily
division led by Alan Garzon, director of investor relations.
The initiative reflects requests the fund shop has received
from investors over the years to diversify its portfolio.
Accesso started exploring multi-family opportunities in
early 2020, just before the onset of the pandemic, Garzon said.
“We are very much believers in the residential asset class,” he
said. “It’s really a resilient asset class. … It generally performs
well in downturns, and it usually outperforms in good times
as well.”
The firm aims to assemble a high-yield apartment portfolio,
through both development and acquisitions, that mirrors the
scope of its office holdings. Accesso owns and operates some 35
office properties totaling 15.6 million sf, and continues to pursue
investments in that sector. It has about $3 billion of assets
under management.
In selecting multi-family investments, Accesso largely
will follow the playbook it has used in the office sector. To
start, it will focus on deals in markets where it already has a
presence and that are poised for population growth as more
residents relocate from northern cities. Accesso is likely to
partner on development projects but will pursue acquisitions
on its own.
The firm believes the asset class will continue to thrive for
a number of reasons, including younger generations delaying
home ownership and a lack of housing supply putting upward
pressure on home values. “We are very bullish … entering into
this space,” Garzon said.
The Accesso-Proffitt Dixon joint venture expects to complete
the projects in the Carolinas in about two years. The
active-adult community in Charlotte, called Providence, will
be developed on about 20 acres at Providence Road and Lynbridge
Drive. Plans for the workforce-housing project in Greer,
called Station 361, call for a garden-style complex in an area
surrounded by major employment centers including a BMW
factory, as well as Michelin’s U.S. headquarters and a nearby
plant.