The apartment complex occupies nearly all of the city block bound by Hanover Avenue, Stuart Avenue, North Thompson and North Nansemond streets. (Mike Platania photos)
For the third time in six years, a Museum District apartment complex has sold for eight figures.
The Gallery Midtown apartments at 308 N. Nansemond St. sold last month for $27.2 million.
Local real estate firm Levco Management purchased the 157-unit complex in a deal that closed Oct. 21. With nine buildings spanning the better part of a city block, it is one of the Museum District’s larger apartment properties.
Once known as River City Court when owned by notorious landlord Billy Jefferson, the apartments were sold at a court-approved auction in 2015 to Boston’s Davis Cos. and local developer Spy Rock Real Estate Group.
The duo poured millions into renovating the units before selling the complex to Utah-based Peak Capital Partners for $25.1 million in 2018.
Levco Managing Partner Jared Levin said the company viewed Gallery Midtown as a unique opportunity in the Museum District.
“(Peak) didn’t really do much to it and realized it wasn’t their piece of cake. They wanted to get out in relatively short order,” Levin said. “But we really like the location. We think a property like that, it’s just very unique, having green space in an area like the Museum District and being fully amenitized.”
The nine-building complex was renovated after being sold at a bankruptcy auction in 2015.
Some of the onsite amenities include a pool, clubhouse, dog park, gym and leasing office. Levin said Levco’s in-house construction firm has already begun some exterior renovations on the buildings and will renovate some of the units’ interiors as they roll over.
“Our plan is to go in and do some substantial renovations to the exterior, increasing the curb appeal, as well as upgrading some of the interiors of units to more closely compete with class-A properties,” Levin said. “We want to offer a comparable product at a cheaper rental rate.”
Gallery Midtown is 96 percent occupied, and the complex was most recently assessed by the city at $25.1 million. NorthMarq’s Wink Ewing, Mike Marshall, Matt Straughan and Jared Alcorn represented Peak in the sale.
Levco now has a dozen properties in its portfolio, all of which are in Virginia or North Carolina. Over the summer it sold the 23-unit Morton’s Apartments downtown to Dodson Property Management for $3.2 million.
Levin said they’ve got about $100 million worth of acquisitions in the pipeline right now, which it will fund in part through a private equity round it recently closed. That money will allow them to acquire up to $400 million of multifamily deals in the coming years.
As of August, SEC filings show Levco had raised $40.1 million of a total $60 million offering for a multifamily fund.
High-dollar sales in the region’s apartment market have been heating up in the final quarter of 2021. The 339-unit Flats at West Broad Village apartments sold last month for a record $111 million to local firm Capital Square, while the Copper Spring apartments in central Henrico also recently sold for over $85 million.
There’s been action south of the river as well, with the Sterling Beaufont apartments in South Richmond selling to another Utah firm, NorthRock Cos., for $44 million. Petersburg also saw a record high sale this fall, with the 69-unit High Street Loft apartments selling for $9.4 million to D.C.-based investment firm Fulton Street Partners.
The apartment complex occupies nearly all of the city block bound by Hanover Avenue, Stuart Avenue, North Thompson and North Nansemond streets. (Mike Platania photos)
For the third time in six years, a Museum District apartment complex has sold for eight figures.
The Gallery Midtown apartments at 308 N. Nansemond St. sold last month for $27.2 million.
Local real estate firm Levco Management purchased the 157-unit complex in a deal that closed Oct. 21. With nine buildings spanning the better part of a city block, it is one of the Museum District’s larger apartment properties.
Once known as River City Court when owned by notorious landlord Billy Jefferson, the apartments were sold at a court-approved auction in 2015 to Boston’s Davis Cos. and local developer Spy Rock Real Estate Group.
The duo poured millions into renovating the units before selling the complex to Utah-based Peak Capital Partners for $25.1 million in 2018.
Levco Managing Partner Jared Levin said the company viewed Gallery Midtown as a unique opportunity in the Museum District.
“(Peak) didn’t really do much to it and realized it wasn’t their piece of cake. They wanted to get out in relatively short order,” Levin said. “But we really like the location. We think a property like that, it’s just very unique, having green space in an area like the Museum District and being fully amenitized.”
The nine-building complex was renovated after being sold at a bankruptcy auction in 2015.
Some of the onsite amenities include a pool, clubhouse, dog park, gym and leasing office. Levin said Levco’s in-house construction firm has already begun some exterior renovations on the buildings and will renovate some of the units’ interiors as they roll over.
“Our plan is to go in and do some substantial renovations to the exterior, increasing the curb appeal, as well as upgrading some of the interiors of units to more closely compete with class-A properties,” Levin said. “We want to offer a comparable product at a cheaper rental rate.”
Gallery Midtown is 96 percent occupied, and the complex was most recently assessed by the city at $25.1 million. NorthMarq’s Wink Ewing, Mike Marshall, Matt Straughan and Jared Alcorn represented Peak in the sale.
Levco now has a dozen properties in its portfolio, all of which are in Virginia or North Carolina. Over the summer it sold the 23-unit Morton’s Apartments downtown to Dodson Property Management for $3.2 million.
Levin said they’ve got about $100 million worth of acquisitions in the pipeline right now, which it will fund in part through a private equity round it recently closed. That money will allow them to acquire up to $400 million of multifamily deals in the coming years.
As of August, SEC filings show Levco had raised $40.1 million of a total $60 million offering for a multifamily fund.
High-dollar sales in the region’s apartment market have been heating up in the final quarter of 2021. The 339-unit Flats at West Broad Village apartments sold last month for a record $111 million to local firm Capital Square, while the Copper Spring apartments in central Henrico also recently sold for over $85 million.
There’s been action south of the river as well, with the Sterling Beaufont apartments in South Richmond selling to another Utah firm, NorthRock Cos., for $44 million. Petersburg also saw a record high sale this fall, with the 69-unit High Street Loft apartments selling for $9.4 million to D.C.-based investment firm Fulton Street Partners.
I am a current tenant, and I’m seeing Levco out and about working on the exterior of the property. I hope they make the investments that Peak was not willing to make without a huge increase in the rent for the current tenants.
This seems like a good move and they seem interested In investing in a quality set of buildings. Per a friend who left there 2 years ago, he really enjoyed it and the addition of the pool was great. However, he left because they had a major mold issue in at least one building, which they seemed unable or uninterested in resolving.
Which apartment complex?