Multifamily investment and development firm Cortland acquired Pure Multi-Family REIT and its portfolio of 22 apartment communities for $1.2B this past week.

Cortland picked up more than 7,000 units from the Canadian REIT in the Sun Belt cities of Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, Austin, San Antonio and Phoenix.

The deal pushes Cortland's portfolio of owned and managed apartments to more than 60,000 nationwide and makes it the largest apartment owner in DFW, the company said.

A spokesperson for Cortland noted the purchase comes with 11 apartment properties and 3,985 apartment units in Dallas-Fort Worth alone. Cortland believes this new scale in DFW will allow it to offer residents a Cortland property within a 20-minute commute to almost every major employer in DFW, the spokesperson said.

A January 2018 report from Multi-Housing News placed Cortland as the sixth-largest apartment owner in the DFW Metroplex last year, with the No. 1 spot held by Starwood Capital Group at the time. A Cortland spokesperson says the firm was No. 3 in DFW until rising to No. 1 with this acquisition.

Atlanta-based Cortland spent this past year in heightened growth mode with the firm acquiring $3.7B worth of multifamily properties, or 20,639 total units, since the start of 2018.

“We’re excited to bring Pure Multi-Family’s communities, associates and 11,000 new residents into the Cortland family,” Cortland founder and CEO Steven DeFrancis said in a press statement.

“This transaction represents a unique growth opportunity for us, but more importantly, it’s an opportunity to build on Pure Multi-Family’s operational foundation to further our commitment to our residents as we work to set the standard for the apartment living experience.”