AvalonBay Reaps $60M+ Via Audubon for 251 Apartments Sold by CBRE

SHREWSBURY—There is something about central Massachusetts piquing the interest of Audubon Capital Partners, or so it would seem given another first-class apartment complex purchase in Greater Worcester by the Boston-based firm whose principals are Brett N. Catlin and Stephen Wise. AvalonBay Communities is recipient of $60.5 million from their trade of 251 units at Avalon Shrewsbury listed through CBRE/NE’s Capital Markets team and backed by a $46.5 million loan from CBRE Multifamily Capital.

“It is a great, very well-built property that performs really well,” CBRE/NE Vice Chairman Simon J. Butler tells Real Reporter in confirming the closing of One Avalon Way, a 17-building, garden-style development dating to 2006, providing new steward Audubon Shrewsbury LLC an institutional quality project in an area which has seen rising job growth mid-decade following a bumpy 2008 recession that sent many institutional-grade apartment investors packing.
“We are pleased to have facilitated the sale of Avalon Shrewsbury on behalf of out client,” Butler says of an asset he adds is poised to offer ACP “a true, long-term growth story given the dynamic MetroWest office market coupled with the ability to add value through select upgrades to both the apartment homes and amenities.” Butler is part of the New England-leading multifamily sales operation co-run by Vice Chairman Biria St. John that is coming off a record $1.5 billion 2015 and has now crested $1 billion this year via the Shrewsbury conclusion.

Declining to discuss that matter of YTD performance or specific terms of the Shrewsbury transaction, Butler reports investor demand is increasing for multifamily beyond the urban core now that metropolitan returns are tightened, a shift evident in the Shrewsbury result eclipsing $241,000 per apartment.That is higher than a $200,000 piece rate ACP paid out for another CBRE/NE multifamily exclusive listing completed in early summer 2015 when Plantation Ridge in Worcester was reeled in for $66.0 million, that a 330-unit complex CBRE/NE sold for TGM Associates. The apartment community that is now known as Audubon Plantation Ridge commands rents from $1,490 per month for a one-bedroom, one bath unit to $1,830 for those with two bedrooms and two baths.

At what has already been rebranded Audubon Shrewsbury, comparable units are being advertised in a range from $1,580 for the one-bedroom/one bath to $2,575 per unit for the two-bedroom/two-bath option. According to CBRE/NE’s assessment, on-site amenities supporting that rate feature a standalone clubhouse with business center and lounge, laundry facilities and outdoor courtyard. There is also a basketball court, playground and pool. The apartments “have been very well-maintained” under the AvalonBay flag, adds Butler, while the diverse unit mix includes select three-bedroom formats.

Set on 23.6 acres, Audubon Shrewsbury is dominated by eight garden-style buildings ranging from three- to four stories; a quintet of three-story townhouse buildings, a pair of two-story townhouse structures and another two-story building featuring a garden-style design. The average apartment home size is 1,261 sf.

The location on Route 20 was also promoted as another tangible reason for the Shrewsbury asset’s solid rental history, CBRE/NE maintains of a site just a quarter-mile from Route 9 and the massive Northborough Crossing lifestyle center anchored by Wegmans and also sporting such dining options as Anthony’s Coal Fired Pizza, Applebee’s, Margarita’s and Starbucks. There is a substantial employer base situated close to the apartments as well, among the top names Boston Scientific, Charles River Laboratories, GE Healthcare, TJX Cos. and the University of Massachusetts’ Memorial Hospital.