Real estate investment firm ZMR Capital (“ZMR”) continues to build its Dallas multifamily portfolio following the acquisition of Chimney Hill, a 240-unit gated community in the North Dallas submarket of Richardson.
Since entering the Dallas market in 2019, ZMR (formerly Berkshire Property Holdings) has increased its local multifamily holdings to approximately 1,100 units. In September 2020, the firm acquired a two-property, 568-unit portfolio in Richardson for $56.8 million.
“One of our primary investment goals is to significantly increase the size of our portfolio in Dallas over the next 24 months, so we can take advantage of economies of scale to create value for our residents and investors,” said ZMR CEO and Co-founder Zamir Kazi.
Located at 9637 Forest Lane, Chimney Hill features a mix of one-, two- and three-bedroom floorplans housed in 11 two-story residential buildings. ZMR plans to improve upon the seller’s in-place interior renovation program with the addition of new appliances including the installation of in-unit washer and dryer, tile backsplash, vinyl plank flooring, fixtures and new cabinet fronts. The firm will also make accretive improvements to the community exteriors and common areas which include swimming pool and lounge area, dog park, picnic and grill stations, cyber café and fitness studio.
Given the well-documented strong in-migration to Dallas/Fort Worth, the rental market has remained relatively strong throughout the pandemic particularly in the northern suburbs where more than 20,000 apartment units have been delivered to keep up with demand. Of them, only 398 were in Richardson, according to a report by Marcus & Millichap.
“With no new product planned for the next 12 months, the demand/supply imbalance in the Richardson submarket should continue for some time. This bodes well for continued occupancy growth where the five-year average is already at nearly 94 percent, said Kazi.
ZMR leveraged the acquisition with three-year financing from a non-bank real estate lender which was arranged by Brian Eisendrath, vice chairman and managing director of CBRE Capital Markets.
