Apartment owner, manager and operator Continental Properties Co. announced the closing of its ninth private real estate fund in December, according to a news release.
Continental Properties Real Estate Development Fund III, L.P, raised approximately $210 million, which the company will invest in the development of suburban apartment communities.
Jim Schloemer, co-founder and CEO of Continental Properties, told Multifamily Dive that the fundraising had been more challenging than in previous rounds.
“I think investors didn't just rush to get onto the train,” Schloemer said. “They had to hear the story, and they had to hear the overall feelings about the strategy, the philosophy, our expectations and our market opinions in greater detail than they had in the past.”
With the new fund, the Milwaukee-based firm expects to develop 14 to 16 properties with a projected aggregate stabilized value exceeding $1 billion.
“We constantly review MSAs to look at an array of factors that we think will influence market demand and absorption in future years,” Schloemer said. “And so it's dynamic. The markets that those 15 communities will go into may not even be MSAs that we've currently developed. They may be part of an MSA where we have developed.”
The firm delivers suburban properties in Midwestern, Sun Belt and Mountain states through three brands: Springs Apartments, Authentix Apartments and Avanterra Homes.
“We design the community, and then we go out and find a site that will accommodate that,” Schloemer said. “So our branded product requires that we're in a suburban location, and perhaps contrary to much of the market, we will develop in what some would call an exurban market.”
Since late 2019, Continental Properties has raised $1.7 billion, achieving a total portfolio value of over $5 billion. In 2024, Continental broke ground on 3,517 units.
“2024 was our second-highest volume on an annualized basis,” Schloemer said. “I don't know if we'll get to that same number in 2025, but we'll get close. Unless there's a market change, and we have to be responsive to it, we anticipate somewhere north of 3,000 homes.”
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