The 651-unit complex dates back to the 1970s. (Mike Platania photo)
It turns out the region’s biggest apartment sale of 2023 came in not long before the ball dropped.
The Belmont Hills Apartments in Chesterfield sold last month for $102.8 million.
The sale recorded with the county on Dec. 21 and was the only nine-figure apartment sale in the Richmond market in 2023, and the fourth-largest real estate deal of any kind for the year.
The deal was between two local firms: the buyer was downtown’s Levco Management and the seller was Henrico-based Weinstein Properties.
Located just south of the Chippenham Parkway-Hull Street Road interchange, Belmont Hills counts 651 apartments, bringing the per-unit price to $158,000.
The complex was built in phases from 1973 through 1990 and spans 69 buildings on nearly 53 acres. It was most recently assessed by the county at $84 million. Levco’s now planning an extensive renovation project of the 96-percent-occupied apartment complex that’ll be led by its in-house construction arm, Levco Construction.
Berkadia’s Drew White and Carter Wood represented Weinstein in the deal.
Belmont Hills is located off Chippenham Parkway, seen right. (Google Earth)
Since its founding in 2013, Levco has been steadily ramping up the size of its local multifamily deals. In 2021, it made a splash with a pair of deals in Chesterfield and the Museum District totaling $133 million, but it spent most of 2023 focusing on operating its existing portfolio of around 2,900 units, rather than adding to it.
Jared Levin
Jared Levin, managing partner at Levco, said rising interest rates, as well rising costs for insurance and building services like landscaping and sanitation, prompted the firm to do fewer deals in 2023 than in years past.
“It was pretty much a deadlock market. (Multifamily) transaction volume across the United States is just down dramatically,” Levin said. “When times are difficult on new acquisitions, everybody’s really trying to hone in on operations versus (find) new deals. So that’s what we did.
But Levin said he thinks with 2024 will come a busier multifamily market. Interest rates are starting to creep down, but more importantly, Levin said there’s less fear that they’ll go up.
“I think there’s a general consensus that the interest rate hiking cycle is behind us, especially with a lot of the inflation metrics getting back down towards the Fed’s target,” he said.
“There’s definitely more certainty in the market. A lot of the issue in 2023 was that no one had a lot of certainty to value assets or commit to transactions.…So I don’t think that 2024 is going to be materially better in terms of capital markets or operational headwinds, but I do think there’s certainty and light at the end of the tunnel so that things can pick back up.”
According to county records, Weinstein had owned Belmont Hills since at least the 1990s. With over 20,000 units in its portfolio throughout the Southeast and Sun Belt, Weinstein is one of the largest locally-based multifamily landlords.
Click here for a list of the 10 largest commercial real estate deals in the region in 2023.
The 651-unit complex dates back to the 1970s. (Mike Platania photo)
It turns out the region’s biggest apartment sale of 2023 came in not long before the ball dropped.
The Belmont Hills Apartments in Chesterfield sold last month for $102.8 million.
The sale recorded with the county on Dec. 21 and was the only nine-figure apartment sale in the Richmond market in 2023, and the fourth-largest real estate deal of any kind for the year.
The deal was between two local firms: the buyer was downtown’s Levco Management and the seller was Henrico-based Weinstein Properties.
Located just south of the Chippenham Parkway-Hull Street Road interchange, Belmont Hills counts 651 apartments, bringing the per-unit price to $158,000.
The complex was built in phases from 1973 through 1990 and spans 69 buildings on nearly 53 acres. It was most recently assessed by the county at $84 million. Levco’s now planning an extensive renovation project of the 96-percent-occupied apartment complex that’ll be led by its in-house construction arm, Levco Construction.
Berkadia’s Drew White and Carter Wood represented Weinstein in the deal.
Belmont Hills is located off Chippenham Parkway, seen right. (Google Earth)
Since its founding in 2013, Levco has been steadily ramping up the size of its local multifamily deals. In 2021, it made a splash with a pair of deals in Chesterfield and the Museum District totaling $133 million, but it spent most of 2023 focusing on operating its existing portfolio of around 2,900 units, rather than adding to it.
Jared Levin
Jared Levin, managing partner at Levco, said rising interest rates, as well rising costs for insurance and building services like landscaping and sanitation, prompted the firm to do fewer deals in 2023 than in years past.
“It was pretty much a deadlock market. (Multifamily) transaction volume across the United States is just down dramatically,” Levin said. “When times are difficult on new acquisitions, everybody’s really trying to hone in on operations versus (find) new deals. So that’s what we did.
But Levin said he thinks with 2024 will come a busier multifamily market. Interest rates are starting to creep down, but more importantly, Levin said there’s less fear that they’ll go up.
“I think there’s a general consensus that the interest rate hiking cycle is behind us, especially with a lot of the inflation metrics getting back down towards the Fed’s target,” he said.
“There’s definitely more certainty in the market. A lot of the issue in 2023 was that no one had a lot of certainty to value assets or commit to transactions.…So I don’t think that 2024 is going to be materially better in terms of capital markets or operational headwinds, but I do think there’s certainty and light at the end of the tunnel so that things can pick back up.”
According to county records, Weinstein had owned Belmont Hills since at least the 1990s. With over 20,000 units in its portfolio throughout the Southeast and Sun Belt, Weinstein is one of the largest locally-based multifamily landlords.
Click here for a list of the 10 largest commercial real estate deals in the region in 2023.