Clarion Partners, Blackfin Pay $886M For 3,600-Unit Sun Belt Apartment Portfolio

Global real estate investor Clarion Partners is teaming up with an Arlington, Virginia-based firm to acquire a major portfolio of apartments across the Sun Belt. 

A joint venture of Clarion and Blackfin Real Estate Investors acquired a 12-asset, 3,564-unit portfolio, which spans six markets in the region and was acquired from PGIM and Carroll.

The portfolio sold for $885.5M, according to a press release from Carroll.

The portfolio includes properties in Tampa, Orlando, Charlotte, Nashville, Melbourne, Florida, and Wilmington, North Carolina. Greystar will manage the properties in Florida and Tennessee, and Drucker & Falk will manage the six properties in North Carolina. 

The buyers plan to update the garden-style properties, built between 1972 and 1995, with new appliances, countertops and flooring, while also upgrading community amenities. 

“This acquisition further strengthens our position in fast-growing Sun Belt markets and also gives us exposure to a high-growth portfolio of seasoned multifamily properties which we can own below replacement cost and renovate for yield enhancement,” Clarion Partners Managing Director Thomas James said in a release. 

Clarion, a 40-year-old firm based in New York with offices across the U.S. and Europe, has more than 1,400 assets under management with over $75B in combined value. 

Blackfin, founded in 2016 by Doug Root and former Kettler President Andy Buchanan, has a $2B-plus portfolio that spans the East Coast, and is composed primarily of Class-B and Class-C value-add properties.

This latest acquisition is part of a wave of national investors snapping up properties in the Sun Belt, as rent growth in many of the region’s markets exceeds growth in more traditional coastal cities.

UPDATE, JUNE 1, 5 P.M. ET: This story has been updated deal with the sale price for the portfolio.