Blackwood Terrace at 71 Lakeland Road in Blackwood – Courtesy: Berkadia

By Joshua Burd

Penn Properties has sold a portfolio of 208 garden apartments in Gloucester Township for $23 million in a deal recently announced by Berkadia.

According to the brokerage team, the transaction includes three properties in the Blackwood neighborhood that were 85 percent occupied at the time of the sale. These include Blackwood Falls at 227 Washington Ave., Blackwood Terrace at 71 Lakeland Road and Foxcroft Apartments at 440 North Black Horse Pike.

Berkadia Senior Managing Director Nat Gambuzza and Senior Director Trevor Fiebel of the firm’s Morristown-based team represented the seller and brokered the buyer, Silverstone Properties. They noted that the sale price represented $110,576 per unit, adding that Blackwood Falls and Blackwood Terrace both had low debt costs that were assumed by the buyer.

“This transaction was challenging due to the loan underwriting process that took several months,” Gambuzza said. “Our team was creative in finding a structure that included both the buyer and seller in the process, despite the fact that there were so many external forces at play that made this transaction difficult. From signing to closing, there were so many changes within the (government-sponsored enterprises), and the service providers slowed down our process tremendously. All of this had to be managed despite fluctuations in interest rates, occupancy rates and management friction.”

In announcing the deal, Berkadia noted that the properties’ tenants will have easy access to Camden, Philadelphia and other major destinations in the area.

“The buyer, Silverstone Properties, is a new customer to the Camden County market who saw value in repositioning the assets,” Fiebel said. “The vacancy was viewed as an opportunity to execute the business plan immediately after closing, which calls for a value-added renovation plan to stabilize the assets while increasing revenue.”