Boundary Cos. Closes First Real Estate Fund, Plans $300M In Investments
Boundary Cos., a Bethesda-based real estate firm founded in 2014, has closed its first real estate fund and is preparing to make a series of investments in the region.
The firm closed on the fund this week, and it plans to use the financing vehicle to invest in around $300M in multifamily, industrial and self-storage properties, Boundary founder and Managing Partner John Wilkinson told Bisnow Wednesday in an interview.
Investors in the fund include family offices and high net worth individuals, some of whom Wilkinson said are prominent real estate professionals. Prior to raising its first fund, Boundary has financed its acquisitions and developments on a deal-by-deal basis.
"Having a discretionary fund streamlines the acquisition process and helps us meet the demands of the market," Wilkinson said.
The company has already lined up the first deal with its new fund: Wilkinson said he expects to close in April on a roughly $11M acquisition of a 742-unit self-storage portfolio in Fredericksburg, Virginia.
After that, Boundary plans to acquire a mix of existing assets and development sites throughout the D.C. region. Wilkinson said he is focusing on multifamily, industrial and self-storage properties because they have proven to be stable through the pandemic.
"We like those assets because they demonstrated to be recession-resilient with durable cashflows and have strong long-term fundamentals," he said.
Prior to launching the fund, Boundary spent the last few years working on multiple development deals in Northeast D.C., plus an industrial deal in Maryland.
The firm in January paid $4.8M to acquire an 11-acre parking lot site in Curtis Bay, Maryland, on the southern edge of Baltimore. The deal was financed separately from its new fund.
Boundary signed a five-year lease with Amazon to park vehicles for its nearby warehouse, and it is going through entitlements for a 200K SF industrial project on the site, Wilkinson said. He hasn't decided whether Boundary would build the industrial project itself or sell it to another developer after securing approvals.
In Northeast D.C., Wilkinson partnered with The JBG Cos. — where he worked before founding Boundary — for the pre-development phase of Eckington Yards, helping bring the 681-unit mixed-use project through entitlements. LCOR then bought Boundary's stake in late 2018 as the project was preparing to break ground.
Boundary also partnered with Elm Street Development to plan and entitle a portion of the St. Paul's College property in Northeast D.C. for 60 townhouses, which are now being built by Tri Pointe Homes.
In 2018, Boundary Cos. paid $16M for a property at 900 Rhode Island Ave. NE in Brookland. The building on the site has an existing tenant, but Boundary is working on a long-term development plan for a 300K SF mixed-use project.
In addition to its acquisition and development activity, Boundary Cos. has also been expanding its construction management arm.
Last year, Boundary hired Dan Stroman from Gilbane Building Co. to serve as president of Boundary Construction Experience. It also hired Amanda Magee as senior project manager. The team is currently working on projects totaling 206K SF and $100M in value, Wilkinson said.
