CIM’s $500M multifamily buy in Northern Virginia among priciest ever

Deal for 2K-unit complex comes as apartment building prices rise nationwide

Avi Shemesh, Richard Ressler, and Shaul Kuba, and the towers
Avi Shemesh, Richard Ressler, and Shaul Kuba, and the towers

CIM Group has closed on one of the biggest multifamily deals the Northern Virginia market has ever seen.

The investment firm paid $506 million for the 2,311-unit Southern Towers in Alexandria, just outside Washington, D.C., according to Bisnow.

CIM bought the five-building, 60-year-old complex from its original developers and owners, Snell Properties and Caruthers Properties.

While a recent report showed commercial real estate transaction volume down 69 percent to $14 billion in July — year-over-year — apartments were a bright spot. Apartment building prices rose 6.9 percent, according to Real Capital Analytics.

The deal is just $3 million shy of the regional record price set in 2017, when JBG sold Morgan Properties the 2,664-unit Mark Center portfolio for $509 million.

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The most recent deal brings CIM’s portfolio of Northern Virginia multifamily properties to 5,500 units.

In December, CIM purchased the 939-unit Skyline Towers complex in nearby Falls Church for an undisclosed price.

Around the same time, the firm announced it was redeveloping the former Crowne Plaza Hotel in Alexandria into a 122-unit condominium tower, according to Bisnow. The firm also owns 685 units across three properties in Washington, D.C. proper, as well as a 1,152-key hotel there.

Last August, CIM sold the massive Hollywood & Highland mall in Los Angeles to the U.S. arm of China-based Gaw Capital Partners and DJM Capital for $325 million. [Bisnow]Dennis Lynch