Insights from Real Estate Investment Firm Elion Partners

Elion Partners is pleased to share ElionConnect.

This month, we are pleased to announce the acquisition of a $198.5 million industrial portfolio in the Washington D.C.-metro area; share how our recent CityPlace transaction marked the largest grocery-anchored sale of 2018 in the Midwest; announce the growth of our firm’s operational capabilities with a new hire; and, our Director of Asset Management’s participation at the 7th Annual Florida Multifamily Summit.

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Elion Acquires a $198.5 Million Industrial Portfolio in Washington D.C. Metro Area, Expanding Mid-Atlantic Industrial Footprint

Real estate investment firms Elion Partners (“Elion”) and Buchanan Partners (“Buchanan”) today announced the acquisition of a 1.6 million square foot industrial portfolio, spanning 34 buildings spread across six locations in the Washington D.C. Metro area for $198.5 million.

Within this transaction, Elion and joint venture partner Buchanan have replicated their ongoing investment strategy, which focuses on investing in key assets at- or below- replacement cost with strong occupancy fundamentals in supply-constrained locations. The newly acquired assets are in close proximity to the Washington Dulles International Airport and service tenants primarily in the government contract sector.

“In addition to supporting our ongoing investment strategy, the fundamentals of industrial warehouse product in the Washington D.C. metro area align with our investment philosophy,” said Juan DeAngulo, Managing Partner and Co-founder of Elion Partners. “The portfolio creates a connection between national and regional logistics platforms, and our nation’s capital, by offering a wider array of tenant pillars which promote greater leasing velocity and simultaneously help offset potential future market volatility”.

Colin Dove, Principal with Buchanan Partners, noted that, “This investment expands our geographic footprint to strong submarkets for one-story flex and industrial product at a fraction of replacement cost in these locations. Many options will present themselves to enhance the value of these buildings and we are excited to have an innovative partner like Elion to help us achieve that goal.”

This announcement marks the second industrial portfolio acquisition in the Washington D.C. Metro area for Elion. In August 2017, the firm, along with Buchanan, completed a 700,000 square foot acquisition of a similar industrial product type. That acquisition included a 14-building portfolio spread across three locations just off Route 28 in the Washington D.C. Metro area, bringing the total portfolio to over 2.3 million square feet.

Elion Grows Its Operational Capabilities with New Hire

Elion is pleased to announce the expansion of its operational capabilities with the appointment of Vincent A. Griffith as our new Director of Development, effective January 31, 2019. He has joined the firm’s project management team and now oversees new development and redevelopment activities. Vincent will leverage his specialization in design and construction, bringing experience from The Related Companies L.P. as a Project Manager in the U.S. Southeast region.

Prior to The Related Companies, Vincent served at Coastal Construction Group as a Construction Project Manager. Throughout his career, he has overseen a variety of projects in a robust set of asset classes, including light industrial, hospitality, and high-end retail developments such as the Miami Design District. He also brings legal expertise as a licensed attorney with experience in real estate transactions, corporate contracts and litigation.

In the current environment, partners of real estate investment firms are increasingly looking to invest in robust teams that bring fiduciary expertise coupled with operational experience. This is why we have built a diverse team at Elion Partners. We believe that recruiting and retaining talent with various types of industry-specific experience is the key to success in the current investment environment. Our team is not only engaged in the day-to-day management of our properties, but this approach ensures that they have a deeper understanding of how to assess the value of an asset and drive appreciation.

What’s more: we combine our approach to investing with offerings in real estate development, so we are truly vertically integrated. Recently, we’ve seen the most opportunity for industrial in core regional distribution markets and urban last-mile opportunities located in demographically significant submarkets.

We look forward to the value Vincent will add to our construction and development team.

Elion’s Director of Asset Management Speaks at 7th annual Florida Multifamily Summit

Recently, Elion’s Director of Asset Management Andrew Rohacik spoke at the 7th annual Florida Multifamily Summit about innovations in the industry’s approach to property management. Today, owners and operators have to do more to attract tenants, while also reining in capital budget expenditures. Andrew and other panelists from Fairfield Residential, Allen Morris Co., and The Bainbridge Companies discussed creative ways that managers are generating income while also driving down costs.

Andrew joined Elion Partners in 2018 from CBRE to take on the role of Director of Asset Management. In this role, he is responsible for the ongoing management and oversight of the firm’s investment portfolio. He also focuses on creating and executing on new initiatives that bolster the investment team’s efforts to ensure steady asset value appreciation over time. Andrew serves on the Investment Committee and Asset Management Committee, working collaboratively with the firm’s acquisition and disposition, finance and marketing departments.

Elion’s $77.8 Million Sale of CityPlace Whole Foods-anchored Shopping Center Marks Largest Grocery-anchored Retail Transaction of 2018 in the Midwest

Elion Partners’ $77.8 million sale of the Whole Foods Market-anchored retail component of CityPlace, a mixed-use project in the Minneapolis-St. Paul-area community of Woodbury, Minnesota, marked the largest grocery-anchored retail transaction of 2018 in the Midwest.

Inland Retail Property Fund, LP acquired the asset, which will be the eighth shopping center acquired by the retail fund focused on necessity retail. HFF marketed the property on behalf of Elion.

Elion redeveloped the former State Farm regional corporate headquarters into CityPlace, a mixed-use concept of retail, medical office, entertainment, 236 hotel rooms and a residential component that includes 253 apartment units on its 100 acres. The 184,711-square-foot, regionally dominant retail component was completed between 2016 and 2017 and features an e-commerce-proof mix of tenants, including Whole Foods Market, Nordstrom Rack, Sierra Trading Post, La-Z-Boy Furniture, Sur La Table, Verizon Wireless, Chuck & Don’s Pet Store, Cafe Zupas, Qdoba Mexican Grill, Cycle Bar, Discover Strength Personal Fitness and Potbelly Sandwich Works.

CityPlace is located at 305 Radio Drive in Woodbury, which is 9.4 miles east of downtown St. Paul and 19 miles east of downtown Minneapolis. The center has frontage along Radio Drive, Hudson Road and Interstate 94, which exposes it to a combined 105,000 vehicles per day. More than 60,500 residents earning an average annual household income of $116,000 live within a three-mile radius of the property, and there are approximately 148,000 residents within the trade area.

“We are grateful to the city of Woodbury for their partnership, which, coupled with Elion’s integrated capabilities as both a fiduciary and an operator, made this complex transaction a reality,” said Juan DeAngulo, managing partner and co-founder of Elion Partners. “This property is very special to us at Elion, and we are thrilled that it is now in great hands with Inland.”

“CityPlace, with its Whole Foods anchor and diverse tenancy, is a prime example of a quality necessity-based shopping center,” added Howard Fields, Inland Retail Property Fund portfolio manager. “We are delighted to add CityPlace to our portfolio.”