CIM Group has closed on one of the biggest multifamily deals the Northern Virginia market has ever seen.
The investment firm paid $506 million for the 2,311-unit Southern Towers in Alexandria, just outside Washington, D.C., according to Bisnow.
CIM bought the five-building, 60-year-old complex from its original developers and owners, Snell Properties and Caruthers Properties.
While a recent report showed commercial real estate transaction volume down 69 percent to $14 billion in July — year-over-year — apartments were a bright spot. Apartment building prices rose 6.9 percent, according to Real Capital Analytics.
The deal is just $3 million shy of the regional record price set in 2017, when JBG sold Morgan Properties the 2,664-unit Mark Center portfolio for $509 million.
The most recent deal brings CIM’s portfolio of Northern Virginia multifamily properties to 5,500 units.
In December, CIM purchased the 939-unit Skyline Towers complex in nearby Falls Church for an undisclosed price.
Around the same time, the firm announced it was redeveloping the former Crowne Plaza Hotel in Alexandria into a 122-unit condominium tower, according to Bisnow. The firm also owns 685 units across three properties in Washington, D.C. proper, as well as a 1,152-key hotel there.
Last August, CIM sold the massive Hollywood & Highland mall in Los Angeles to the U.S. arm of China-based Gaw Capital Partners and DJM Capital for $325 million. [Bisnow] — Dennis Lynch