Zion Capital: The new kid buying up the block

Incorporated in 2021, the Austin-based investor now holds almost 500 units

Van Hagye and Northmarq's Chase Johnson (LinkedIn, Getty)
Van Hagye and Northmarq's Chase Johnson (LinkedIn, Getty)

Zion Capital Group was incorporated less than two years ago. Now, it owns seven multifamily properties in the Texas capital.

Northmarq Capital arranged $43.8 million in loans for the Austin-based investment firm’s five latest acquisitions in the city, the Austin Business Journal reports. The five properties — totaling 325 units — are all located within a five mile radius between the University of Austin and North Loop.

Chase Johnson, the Senior VP for Northmarq’s Austin office, called the newly minted investor “one of the most energetic and focused group of operators I have had the opportunity to work with.”

Its latest purchase, the “Hyde Park Portfolio” consists of Spanish Trails Apartments and Miller Square Apartments. Spanish Trails at 4520 Bennett Avenue has 40 units, and less than a mile south, Miller Square at 918 East 40 Street has 50. Zion bought the two properties from Armadillo Spanish Trails Realty and CSC Miller Square Realty, respectively.

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In January, Zion picked up the Mueller Place Apartments — two complexes located just minutes apart. Mueller Place I on Wellington Drive includes 86 apartments, while Mueller Place II on Berkman Drive has 24 units. The two properties were purchased from owner and developer MCP Mueller Place LLC.

A few miles east towards 183 Toll is Zion’s third acquisition of the year, which was also boosted by Northmarq’s financing: The Villas at Mueller on 6103 Manor Road. The firm closed on the 127-unit community in March.

These five new holdings bring Zion’s overall portfolio to nine multifamily properties, according to its website, which includes holdings outside of Texas. In 2021, it picked up the 44-unit Quail Creek Apartments and the 42-unit Retama Trace Apartments — both in Austin. The firm also owns the 336-unit Diamond Ridge apartments in Winston Salem, NC and the 107-unit Legacy Apartments in Louisville, KY.

— Maddy Sperling