Orbach Group and Phoenix Realty buy 472-unit apartment portfolio for $46.5 million

The Orbach Group and Phoenix Realty Group (PRG) have purchased three properties totaling 472 apartments in the central New Jersey towns of Neptune, South River and Long Branch. The $46.5 million purchase from AIG was part of a larger transaction involving three additional N.J. apartment communities sold to Vantage Properties and Angelo, Gordon & Co. All the deals closed simultaneously, with Orbach and PRG acquiring the properties subject to the existing long-term financing on two of the three properties. According to Meyer Orbach, president of The Orbach Group, the portfolio is a great fit for the firm's holdings. "The properties are of great intrinsic value, which is our first priority in deciding upon an acquisition," said Orbach. "Geographically, they complement our existing portfolio of 4,000 units across New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania. We know from our past experience that PRG and Orbach work well together in these types of ventures, and our tenants and both firms will benefit from the transaction." "These value-added assets are a perfect match for our targeted real estate investment funds that in the past two years have acquired nearly 1,500 rental units in New Jersey valued at more than $130 million," said Edward Ratinoff, PRG managing director. "The region continues to show a strong demand for middle-market apartments that offer an attractive lifestyle at a time when home prices remain out of reach for the majority of local working families, especially those who commute to jobs in Manhattan and North Jersey," said Udi Kore, PRG vice president. ''Orbach has proved to be an excellent operator in this space, and we are very pleased to be collaborating with them again." The New Jersey portfolio is comprised of Jumping Brook Apartments in Neptune (308 units in 28 buildings), Leonardine Gardens in South River (140 units in eight buildings) and the fully occupied Marine Gardens on the oceanfront in Long Branch (24 units in two buildings). Nearly $2.5 million will be spent across all three properties to enhance amenities and landscaping and renovate units. Earlier this year, PRG teamed with Orbach on a 13-building residential portfolio located on West 49th Street in Manhattan, just blocks from Times Square and Rockefeller Center. In the first quarter of 2011, Orbach acquired a nearly 200-unit rental property in Bensalem, Pennsylvania. Known for its hands-on approach to managing properties, Orbach continues to seek new multifamily investment opportunities in New York City, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. PRG continues to actively invest in value-added multifamily properties and to pursue joint-venture development of new multifamily properties in the tri-state region of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, and across Southern California, tapping $380 million in discretionary institutional fund capital targeted for those areas. Since mid-2010, the firm has acquired more than 3,500 apartment units nationally, valued at $400 million. The firm currently owns and manages market-rate apartment properties and affordable housing in major markets across the U.S.