Harbor Group Acquires $190 Million Portfolio in Baltimore

By Adrian Maties, Associate Editor

Harbor Group International(”HGI”), LLC has paid $190 million for a six-property multifamily portfolio located in Baltimore, Maryland. The seller is an affiliate of Sawyer Realty Holdings, LLC.

In a time when people would rather rent than buy, Harbor Group International has made a wise decision investing in the rental market. With the acquisition of the 1,984 units,  HGI now now owns more than 3,300 rental units in suburban Maryland.

The Woodlawn rental portfolio consists of the following properties:

• Crosswinds at Rolling Road, 808 units
• Diamond Ridge, 92 units
• The Glens at Rolling Road, 270 units
• Granite Run, 264 units
• Rolling Wind, 280 units
• Stratton Meadows, 270 units

All the properties are situated in Baltimore County’s Windsor Mill neighborhood.

The Norfolk-based company plans to invest an additional $7.75 million (approximately $3,900/unit) into various exterior and interior renovations. Jones Lang LaSalle agents Al Cissel and Scott Melnick brokered the deal. To date, it is the largest multifamily acquisition Harbor Group has made in the suburban Maryland market. Woodlawn, in Baltimore County, has the headquarters of two large federal agencies — Social Security Administration and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, making it very appealing to the Virginia firm. And rents have been on the rise in the region, as homeownership levels drop due to the difficult economy.

Harbor Group International, LLC has been acquiring properties for profitable commercial real estate investing since 1990. It is a private real estate investment and management firm which controls a portfolio of worldwide assets valued in excess of $3.5 billion. HGI is headquartered in Norfolk, Virginia with offices in New York, Chicago and Tel Aviv. The company’s real estate holdings include over 9.8 million square feet of commercial space and approximately 20,000 apartment units.

Earlier this year Harbor Group International has acquired a 2,500 unit multifamily portfolio in southeastern Virginia for $165.9 million. It was an eight-property, 2,508-unit portfolio, located in the Hampton Roads area of southeast Virginia. The company has also been expanding its reach into other markets, including recent purchases of apartment communities in Tampa-St. Petersburg, Florida and  Raleigh, North Carolina.