Affiliates of Harbor Group International (HGI), a privately owned international real estate investment and management firm based in Norfolk, Virginia, acquired an eight-asset portfolio of workforce housing communities in North Carolina for $475 million from Dasmen Residential.
The 2,356-unit multifamily portfolio features properties in the state’s Research Triangle, an area known for its research universities and STEM companies, including one community in Charlotte, four communities in Durham, and three communities in Raleigh. According to HGI, it plans to invest approximately $21.9 million to renovate one-fourth of the interior units across the properties. Harbor Group Management Co., HGI’s property management arm, will assume management of the portfolio.
“The Research Triangle is an important target market for HGI as we seek to acquire well-located communities in high-growth markets,” said president Richard Litton. “As the area’s high-paying STEM jobs continue to attract new residents, we see opportunity to leverage our expertise in owning and operating similar communities in the region to generate rent growth amid increasing demand for housing.”
The Newmark team of Jason Kon, Henry Stimler, and Bill Weber represented the seller and facilitated the debt for the acquisition.
“We are proud that we were able to bring these two great firms together to do this unique and large off-market transaction. Dasmen entrusted the Newmark team to execute this deal in a very quiet and select manner, culminating in a great outcome for both parties,” added Kon.
The portfolio’s Durham and Raleigh properties have access to Research Triangle Park, which has 22.5 million square feet of office and lab space and more than 275 businesses. According to HGI, since 2020, more than 9,000 jobs have been created in the Research Triangle area, which features major employers such as Bayer Crop Science, Cisco, Biogen, and IBM. In addition, Apple’s first East Coast campus is under development and will provide an anticipated 3,000 jobs.
HGI is an active investor in the Southeast. With the addition of this workforce housing portfolio, the firm owns and manages nearly 5,000 apartment units in North Carolina.
