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A newly built apartment building in downtown Charleston has changed ownership in an $88.25 million sale, making it one of the priciest property deals on the peninsula.
Massachusetts-based private equity firm Northland recently paid just under $400,000 per key for the 221-unit Five Eleven Meeting Apartments at 511 Meeting St. near the Interstate 26 off-ramp, according to Charleston County land records.
The previous owner was an affiliate of Aspen Heights Partners of Austin, Texas, which bought the undeveloped site in 2016 for $2.7 million and incorporated a former grocery store into the plans.
Five Eleven Meeting opened in 2019. The building includes studio, one- and two-bedroom units, of which 33 are rent restricted. Amenities include a fitness center, yoga studio, bike storage and repair area, and a second-story pool deck with a fire pit and grill stations.
It also includes a resident lounge with a billiards table, foosball table and bar space. Coffee and wine bar Blum occupies 2,960 square feet on the ground floor.
Rents range from just under $2,100 for a studio apartment to almost $3,000 for a two-bedroom unit, according to Five Eleven’s website of available units.
“Since our entrance into the Charleston market in 2019 with The Standard on James Island and Wharf 7 on Daniel Island, we’ve been actively seeking additional opportunities for expansion onto the peninsula,” said Bruno Setteducati, director of investments at Northland.
Since 2019, Northland has invested more than $200 million in Charleston to assemble a portfolio of 813 class-A apartment homes.
Northland owns and operates more than 26,000 units in 14 states.
In 2021, the 350-unit 10 WestEdge apartment and retail building at Lockwood Drive and Spring Street sold for nearly $134 million, or just under $384,000 per key, to Mt. Pleasant Investments LLC.
The nine-story building houses a ground-floor Publix supermarket that wasn’t included in the transaction and was sold to Colorado-based Helton Enterprises LLC in 2020 for $24.5 million.
In 2020, Charlotte-based Madison Capital Group bought the 275-unit Foundry Point Apartments at 6 Huguenin Ave. off Morrison Drive for $82.4 million, or almost $300,000 per key.
PunchListUSA is headquartered on upper Meeting Street in Charleston. Provided/PunchListUSA
Punching in
A national real estate trade group recently tapped a Charleston-based technology company as its preferred home repair estimates and services partner.
Under the agreement, members of the National Association of Realtors will gain free access to PunchListUSA‘s online repair estimates, which can be accessed by uploading an inspection file through the trade group’s website.
Realtors in PunchListUSA’s service areas can also receive 5 percent off the company’s turnkey repair and renovation services.
PunchListUSA co-founder ad CEO Min Alexander said the service is available to 1.5 million agents and members of the trade group. All repairs and renovations services are backed by the company’s one-year warranty.
Alston Arms Apartments in North Charleston recently sold for $28.1 million to a Texas-based company five years after changing hands for $12.1 million. File/Staff
Changing hands
A North Charleston multifamily complex recently changed hands for more than twice the price paid five years ago.
Texas-based Think Multifamily bought the 160-unit Alston Arms Apartments for $28.1 million from New Jersey-based Alston Arms 2017 LLC, which paid $12.1 million for the 8.7-acre property in 2017.
Built in 2007, the apartments were undergoing interior and exterior renovations at the time of the sale five years ago. The buyer plans to continue the upgrading efforts for the two-story units off Ward Avenue not far from Charleston Air Force Base.
North Charleston “has seen tremendous growth over the past few years and with the influx of more residents to the area, workforce housing will remain strong,” said Johnathan Kessler, of Greenville-based Aline Capital’s Multifamily Advisory Group, which assisted on the transaction.
South Street Partners, the owner of the 20,000-acre Palmetto Bluff development in Bluffton in Beaufort County, recently bought the former Fairfield Inn & Suites in nearby Okatie for $5.95 million. South Street Partners/Provided
New acquisition
A real estate investment firm that owns the master developer of Kiawah Island recently bought a hotel west of Hilton Head Island to relieve housing pressure on its employees.
South Street Partners, which owns Kiawah Partners as well as the 20,000-acre Palmetto Bluff development in Bluffton, paid $5.95 million in August for the 33,000-square-foot, 64-key former Fairfield Inn & Suites at 105 Okatie Center Blvd. North near Bluffton in Beaufort County.
It’s now called Okatie Hilton Head Hotel.
“Creating workforce housing and lodging has been a main priority for South Street Partners since acquiring Palmetto Bluff last June,” said Dixie Norris, vice president of human resources.
The property will remain operational as a hotel and open to the public while also providing preferred rates for South Street employees.
Built in 1999, the hotel underwent interior renovations in 2018. During the past two years, the water heating and plumbing systems also were upgraded. The property includes a swimming pool and gathering space.
South Street also recently announced the future development of a 300-acre golf course along with home sites on the 885-acre Orange Hill tract off Bohicket Road on Johns Island.