King of Prussia, Pennsylvania-based Morgan Properties was already the largest apartment owner in its home state.
With last week’s acquisition of 11 properties encompassing 3,434 units in the Lehigh Valley, Reading, Harrisburg and the suburbs of Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, Morgan is getting even bigger. It now owns and manages more than 14,000 units and 56 communities in Pennsylvania.
“We wanted to invest in our home state of Pennsylvania given that the fundamentals are solid in these high-barrier, infill locations and these larger portfolio deals rarely trade in Pennsylvania where the ownership concentration mostly consists of families like us who hold generationally,” said Jonathan Morgan, president of Morgan Properties JV, in a statement to Multifamily Dive. “Given our Pennsylvania geographic concentration, local market knowledge and proven track record of executing our value-add repositioning strategy, this portfolio was a great fit.”
Morgan Properties purchased the assets from the original developer and owner, Flourtown, Pennsylvania-based The DePaul Management Co. Matthew Stefanski and Zachary Pierce of Berkadia's Philadelphia office brokered the transaction.
“It is a challenging environment to close transactions given the capital markets, and Morgan Properties is uniquely positioned to expand our portfolio holdings strategically with our strong capital relationships,” Morgan said.
Morgan said that the acquisition supports the firm’s strategic goal of acquiring large multifamily portfolios where its market concentration enables it to achieve operational efficiencies and capitalize on economies of scale.
Morgan Properties plans to invest over $80 million in upgrades to the properties, including kitchen, bath and common area renovations. Those will include the installation of in-unit washers and dryers and high-efficiency heating systems; lighting, security and landscape improvements; roof replacements; and parking lot repairs.
On the amenity front, Morgan Properties plans to upgrade and expand fitness centers and install exterior dog parks and pet wash stations, Amazon package hubs, playgrounds, pickleball courts and outdoor grilling islands.
Morgan Properties owns 350 communities nationwide and is the No. 3 owner in the country.
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