Northland Breaks Into Atlanta Apartment Market With Deal Near Pill Hill

CoStar Group
By Matthew McClenahan
January 5, 2021

Northland Investment Corp. closed on a 320-unit apartment complex near Atlanta’s Pill Hill for its first investment in the city and its second in the state.

The real estate private equity firm out of Massachusetts paid $90.55 million for Novel Perimeter, a luxury apartment building completed in 2018 at 5755 Glenridge Drive. Northland acquired the property from Crescent Communities and Bluerock Residential Growth REIT, with the deal coming out to nearly $283,000 per unit.

Crescent developed the high-end property at the Interstate 285 and state Route 400 interchange minutes northwest of Pill Hill, Atlanta’s premier health care hub that hosts the highest concentration of medical health care providers in Georgia. The property is also located close to the Central Perimeter business district and in proximity to several large corporate campuses including the U.S. headquarters of Mercedes-Benz.

Novel Perimeter sold quickly after having only been on the market for about 45 days, Kyle Brock, managing director with Crescent, told CoStar. The selling venture had initially intended to bring the property to market earlier in the year, though plans were delayed due to the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. The sellers ultimately listed the property after market and property fundamentals proved resilient amid the ongoing public health crisis.

Crescent and Bluestone completed lease-up at Novel Perimeter in September, with the property stable at approximately 91% leased since that time, Brock said.

This acquisition marks the first in Atlanta for Northland, which highlighted the area’s demographics and the property’s top-of-market amenities as primary motivators behind the purchase. Novel Perimeter offers one- to three-bedroom units and sports a 2,500-square-foot gym with a dedicated yoga and spin room, a saltwater pool, coffee bar and a tanning shelf and cabanas.

Northland closed on its first apartment investment in Georgia earlier this year with the $41.4 million purchase of Lofts at Zebulon in Macon, a city located roughly 85 miles southeast of Atlanta. Northland owns and operates more than 25,000 apartment units across the country.

For the Record
Chris Goldsmith and Patrick Jones of Walker & Dunlop represented the selling venture in negotiations. CBRE Multifamily Capital provided $64.33 million in acquisition financing to the buyer.

For more detailed information on this transaction, please refer to CoStar COMPS #5314493.