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Philadelphia, PA – LEM Capital, L.P. (“LEM”) has funded a $16.6 million joint venture investment for the acquisition and renovation of Art Avenue (“Art Avenue” or the “Property”), a 300-unit garden-style apartment community. The Property is located in the Lee Vista submarket, a growing, amenity-rich area in east Orlando with a highly regarded school system. The Property was acquired in a joint venture with a repeat LEM sponsor that focuses on multifamily value-add transactions in major markets across Florida. The joint venture’s value-add business plan contemplates management improvements and physical upgrades to unit interiors, enhancing the exterior curb appeal, remodeling the clubhouse and fitness center, and creating new amenity spaces.

Art Avenue was built in 2014 and features a mix of one-bedroom, two-bedroom and three-bedroom apartment homes. The Property’s location next to SR-417 provides easy access to the downtown Orlando central business district, Lake Nona Medical City, the UCF Research Park, and the Orlando International Airport (which is currently undergoing on a $3.5 billion expansion) – all within 15 minutes. New retail and restaurants at the Lee Vista Town Promenade are less than five miles away, and new “A” rated elementary and middle schools are within close proximity of the Property.

“We are very excited about the opportunity to acquire a well-built, newer vintage asset with physical upside proximate to Orlando’s major traffic corridors and the rapidly expanding Lake Nona Medical City” said Jay Eisner, a founding partner at LEM. “Our value-add business plan contemplates upgrades to the Property and onsite management designed to provide tenants with a “Class A” living experience at a more affordable price point.”

Philadelphia, PA – LEM Capital, L.P. (“LEM”) today announced the firm’s 2018 acquisition goals, continuing the firm’s business of partnering with high-quality, local real estate operating companies to acquire value-add multifamily properties. “Our target for 2018 is to acquire between $400 and 500 million of Class B apartment properties located in primary markets on the east and west coasts, the four major cities in Texas, Nashville, Chicago, Minneapolis, Phoenix, Denver and other cities on a select basis,” said Herb Miller, a founding partner of LEM. “In our view, the combination of LEM’s experience, discipline and diligence combined with our local partners expertise and capabilities helps create a strong and reliable partnership that is advantageous in today’s competitive market. We believe that LEM’s willingness to tour properties often before they hit the market and work side by side with our operating partners through the bidding and acquisition process helps us win deals by giving sellers the high level of certainty and ease of execution that they are seeking,” said partner Jay Eisner.”

LEM’s value-add multifamily equity program typically provides up to 85% of the required equity behind the senior mortgage debt, targeting equity investments ranging between $5 million and $20 million per property, with total capitalizations ranging from $20 million to $50 million or higher. “LEM’s value-add business plans typically contemplate upgrades to apartment interiors, common areas and a particular focus on the amenities with the goal of providing a “like new” experience at a moderate price point for renters.  We work closely with our operating partners to develop and implement business plans that seek to create value over our typical 5-year hold period,” said David Lazarus, a partner of LEM.

LEM recently closed two transactions, a $53.3 million acquisition of a 432-unit property in Winter Park, Florida, and a $24.8 million acquisition of a 200-unit property in Atlanta, Georgia.

Philadelphia, PA – LEM Capital, L.P. (“LEM”) has funded a $10.5 million joint venture investment for the acquisition and renovation of Skyline (the “Property”), a 192-unit garden-style apartment community. The Property is located in Kent, a growing suburb of Seattle that is equidistant from the Ports of Seattle and Tacoma and is the region’s warehouse and distribution hub. The Property was acquired in a joint venture with a repeat LEM sponsor that focuses on multifamily value-add transactions in major markets across the Western United States. The sponsor’s value-add business plan includes renovating unit interiors, enhancing exterior curb appeal, remodeling the clubhouse, creating a BBQ and soft seating area, adding a dog park, and instituting a more professional approach to property management and marketing.

Skyline was built in 1984 and features a single two-bedroom, two-bath layout. The Property provides residents with convenient access to the Kent Valley, one of the country’s largest warehouse and distribution hubs with over 104 million square feet of office and industrial space. Skyline is proximate to the Interstate-5 and a stop for the Sound Transit Line, which combine to offer residents multiple ways to directly access the MSA’s largest job hubs including downtown Seattle, Bellevue and the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (“SeaTac”). Furthermore, as Seattle has become increasingly expensive, business and individuals are moving south and submarkets like Kent are benefiting disproportionately from these dynamics.

“The opportunity to acquire Skyline with a repeat sponsor and execute a value-add program in an MSA with strong demand and growth fundamentals is unique” said Herb Miller, a founding partner at LEM. “LEM’s vertically integrated local operator anticipates upgrading the Property and the tenant base, which should help to generate increases in cash flow and value for our investment partners.”

Philadelphia, PA – LEM Capital, L.P. closed the firm’s fourth discretionary fund in August at its original $300 million target. Fund IV will invest exclusively in Class B multifamily properties in primary and secondary U.S. markets that offer an opportunity to add value and increase revenue through property and amenity upgrades as well as improved property management. An integral part of the strategy combines the local, long-term market knowledge and day-to-day management of the firm’s network of nationwide operating partners with LEM’s disciplined investment selection, rigorous due diligence process and intensive asset management oversight, all led by the firm’s partners. This is the firm’s second fund dedicated to this strategy.

Fund IV received limited partner commitments from several existing institutional investors in addition to new domestic and international pension funds, fund-of-funds, family offices and high net worth individuals.

“We remain extremely appreciative of all of our long-term investors, many of whom have been with us since 2002 and saw us work hard to preserve their capital and deliver a profit in all of our funds active through the Great Recession. We are also fortunate to have developed many new relationships for Fund IV.” said Jay Eisner, one of LEM Capital’s founding partners.

The Fund has already deployed 56% of committed capital into 16 investments representing 18 properties and 4,981 units across 11 distinct U.S. submarkets. The balance of the capital is expected to be deployed over the course of the next 12-18 months across similar investments. “Driving this focus on Class B multifamily are the long-term demographic and lifestyle shifts we identified in 2010 that continue to help generate strong performance and positive future growth prospects for this strategy. The growing millennial population and retiring baby boomers are sharing a higher propensity to rent. The hangover of the Great Recession combined with more student debt, tighter mortgage credit and delays in major life events like marriage and children have created a growing trend of longer-term rental households and an increasing permanent renter base in the US,” said Herb Miller, also an LEM Capital founding partner. “We seek to provide renters with a like-new experience at a moderate price point. A place they will be proud to call home.”

LEM expects the fund to employ approximately 70% leverage and to acquire $1 billion worth of multifamily properties.