CORAL GABLES, FL – A new online tool, launched by the University of Miami with support from Citi, reveals roughly 500 million square feet – roughly the size of Manhattan – of underutilized, publicly owned land in Miami-Dade potentially suitable for the development of affordable housing.

The new tool, called Land Access for Neighborhood Development (LAND), is a free, online mapping tool that provides a real-time snapshot of the location, size, and ownership of thousands of parcels of publicly or institutionally owned vacant or underutilized land across Miami-Dade County and its 34 municipalities. These are parcels of developable land that could be assembled across jurisdictions and along transportation hubs to house lower-income residents who are being priced or pushed out of the rapidly gentrifying housing market.

The tool was publicly unveiled yesterday at an event at the Beacon Council that featured remarks by City of Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, Director of Miami-Dade County Public Housing and Community Development Michael Liu, Community & Economic Development Advisor of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta Ann Carpenter, and Annie Lord, Executive Director of Miami Homes for All.

“The launch of the Land Access for Neighborhood Development tool is part of our holistic approach to improving quality of life, making a pathway to prosperity, and becoming a more resilient city,” said Miami Mayor Francis Suarez. “This will allow us to map out underused land throughout Miami to identify spaces for affordable housing, parks, and other elements that will directly impact countless lives.”

“Our goal in developing this free tool is to show the incredible resources available across the county for the development of affordable housing,” said Robin Bachin, director of UM’s Office for Civic and Community Engagement, which founded the Miami Housing Solutions Lab. “By being able to visualize this land, policymakers can more easily make evidence-based strategies for conveying land to promote housing affordability and equitable community development.”

“There is both a huge need and rising local support for innovative new approaches to affordable housing, but the missing ingredient has been access to developable land,” said Ines Hernandez, South Florida Market Manager for Citi Community Development. “By gathering this previously unavailable information and making it accessible to the public for the first time, this new LAND tool will unlock the tremendous opportunity for making and preserving permanently affordable housing for families across Miami-Dade County.”

“Never before have we been able to see, with as much breadth and detail, publicly and institutionally owned vacant lands across Miami-Dade County,” said Annie Lord, Executive Director of Miami Homes for All. “This tool will, for the first time ever, allow us to have a collective, transparent, inclusive conversation about what to do with this land owned by our public institutions. At a time when we’re facing a dire affordable housing crisis, it’s incumbent on all of us to make sure the land is managed responsibly.”

To access the LAND tool, visit land.ccs.miami.edu

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DALLAS, TX – The Praedium Group, a New York City-based national real estate investment firm, today announced the sale of Legends at Chase Oaks in Dallas, TX.  The property was bought in 2014.  The announcement was made by Peter Calatozzo, Managing Director of The Praedium Group.

Built in 1997, this low-density property is surrounded on three sides by Watters Creek golf course and has access to the highly rated Plano Independent School District.  The property consists of 32 two-tale buildings with a majority of the units having direct access garages.

Praedium successfully executed a comprehensive capital upgrade program targeting both the common areas and the unit interiors.  Praedium modernized the clubhouse by installing new hardwood flooring throughout, adding new furniture, art and light fixtures, and completing a remodel of the leasing offices, clubhouse bathrooms and demonstration kitchen. 

This renovation also included installing an outdoor fire-pit and pool-side lounge area, expanding the equipment in the fitness center and repurposing a maintenance shed into a “Wellbeats” virtual fitness studio.  Praedium renovated over 20% of the unit interiors by installing stainless steel appliances, granite countertops, faux wood floors, updated hardware, modern lighting and two-inch blinds. 

With the sale of Legends at Chase Oaks, Praedium has now fully liquidated Praedium VIII Multifamily Value Fund, L.P., its eighth flagship investment vehicle which was comprised of 19 properties totaling 5,200 units and had a total cost of approximately $1 billion.  Praedium VIII was comprised of properties constructed from 1997 to 2015, and the Fund was invested between 2013 and 2016, across 16 different markets throughout the United States.

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KING OF PRUSSIA, PA – Morgan Properties, one of the nation’s largest and fastest growing multifamily investors, announced it officially ranks as Pennsylvania’s largest multifamily owner and operator following its historic portfolio acquisition of 10 apartment communities with 4,130 apartments spanning Philadelphia and Northern Virginia. This acquisition brings Morgan Properties’ Pennsylvania portfolio to 9,300 units and its total unit count reaches 50,000 units for the first time since its inception in 1985. This landmark acquisition marks the largest multifamily transaction in Philadelphia to date and expands the company’s already growing presence in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic Region.

Morgan Properties plans to invest an additional $20 million into renovations and amenity upgrades in these properties. Morgan Properties has successfully completed recent acquisitions in both markets including the Mark Center Portfolio, a $509 million acquisition comprised of 2,664 units in Alexandria, Virginia; and Chesterfield Apartments and Curren Terrace Apartments, a combined $71 million portfolio acquisition in suburban Philadelphia. Morgan Properties currently owns 5,000 units in Northern Virginia.

“We are extremely proud of our organization in achieving this significant milestone of reaching 50,000 units. We considered this portfolio a once in a lifetime acquisition opportunity as it marks the largest multifamily transaction in Pennsylvania to date and officially makes us the top multifamily owner in our home state,” said Jonathan Morgan, President of Morgan Properties JV. “This transaction solidifies the geographic concentration in two of our Core Markets of suburban Philadelphia and Northern Virginia. We are confident in the strong fundamentals of the multifamily industry and are very well positioned for the future. Our team is looking forward to hitting the ground running on this one. Since 2012, Morgan Properties has bought over $5 billion in total acquisition volume comprised of over 30,000 units.”

The Philadelphia assets in this portfolio consist of seven apartment communities totaling 2,346 units. Stonegate at Devon and Villas at Bryn Mawr, both located in the coveted Main Line neighborhoods of Devon and Bryn Mawr, total 947 units. The remaining five assets, totaling 1,399 units, are situated in Conshohocken, West Chester, Downingtown, Jeffersonville, and Bensalem in suburban Philadelphia.

The Northern Virginia sub-portfolio consists of three apartment communities totaling 1,784 units. Mount Vernon Square in Alexandria, Virginia represents the largest property in the portfolio, with 1,387 units. The apartment community is considered the anchor asset to Morgan Properties’ rapidly growing presence in Alexandria, Virginia. East Meadows and Village of Potomac Falls round out the Northern Virginia sub-portfolio. The properties, located in Fairfax and Sterling, total a combined 397 units. Both assets are located within two miles from the Dulles Airport with convenient access to the Reston-Herndon employment centers and the growing Dulles technology corridor.

“This acquisition is a game-changer for our organization,” said Jason Morgan, Principal at Morgan Properties. “We aspire to get better with every acquisition and our team is excited about the economies of scale this brings to our portfolio. We closed this transaction using our own internal sources of equity, secured very attractive long-term, fixed-rate financing and view this portfolio as generational hold. We continue to be selective on acquisition opportunities but realize that these portfolios of critical mass rarely come on the market in suburban Philadelphia given the multifamily ownership composition is primarily comprised of families. We also look forward to owning over 5,000 units in Northern Virginia.”

As a best-in-breed class B multifamily owner/operator, Morgan Properties owns and manages 50,000 units in 11 states throughout the country. The company targets multifamily properties in infill, high-barrier markets where its operational expertise can quickly add value for its residents and investors.

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