Alpaca Real Estate has created a $300m (€276m) US residential strategy and acquired a 150-townhome community in Dallas as its first deal through a forward purchase.
The real estate private equity firm said it expects to assemble a portfolio of over 1,000 new rental homes in locations “marked by strong population growth, robust household income, best-in-class school districts and access to both employment and recreation”.
Alpaca Real Estate and LyvWell Communities, which have a long-standing partnership, teamed up to buy the land with development rights in Dallas and have secured a deal with Southern Impression Homes to build the townhomes for a set price.
Daniel Carr, managing partner of Alpaca Real Estate, said: “Homes in the US are unaffordable for the average American. By creating net new housing, we provide residents with the ability to live next to great schools and have an easy commute to work. The rent-to-own option offers an innovative and accretive overlay to the strategy.
“This transaction reflects Alpaca’s thematic strategy of investing in high-demand locations through thoughtfully structured forward purchases. We are thrilled to deepen relationships with both Southern Impression Homes and LyvWell Communities.”
LyvWell CEO Mike Bednarski said: “This transaction was compelling for a number of reasons, including its optimal location, the opportunity to forward purchase the homes at an attractive basis, significant demand for built-to-rent housing in the local market, and our ability to layer in technology improvements to generate operational efficiencies, enhance the resident experience and ultimately improve the overall quality of the project. We are thrilled to partner with Alpaca, a relationship of nearly 15 years.”
Southern Impression Homes president Chris Funk said: “We are pleased to partner with Alpaca and LyvWell to construct high quality, purpose-built rental communities. We look forward to future transactions across several markets.”
To read the latest IPE Real Assets magazine click here.
