JLL Income Property Trust has expanded its multifamily holdings in the Boston area with the off-market acquisition of Princeton North Andover, a 192-unit luxury apartment community in the north Boston suburb of North Andover, Mass., for $72.5 million, or $375,000 per unit.
Located at 1252 Osgood St., the property was constructed in 2019 by Princeton Properties. The community has one- and two-bedroom layouts with luxury unit finishes.
Amenities include a fitness center, pool, yoga studio, outdoor grilling areas and a resident clubhouse. The property offers suburban walkability with retail, restaurants and a commuter rail station nearby. The asset is located less than 2 miles from I-495 and is also a short drive from I-93. Princeton North Andover is close to employers in the area as well as in downtown Boston.
Allan Swaringen, JLL Income Property Trust president & CEO, said in a prepared statement the acquisition fits extremely well with the REIT’s growing apartment portfolio and its strategy to invest in amenity-rich, newer communities with high barriers to entry for new competition. He said luxury communities are in demand in North Andover, which has strict limits on future multifamily development and higher single-family home prices averaging $700,000.
The community, which has a workforce that supports Boston’s technology, biotech and pharmaceutical employment sectors, has one of the strongest demographic profiles in the region. Average household income is more than $160,000 and the public school system ranks in the top 25 percent statewide.
The property is located in the North Essex County, which has a low vacancy rate of 2.2 percent. Suburban Boston is listed as an “overweight” market and ranked in the top five markets, according to LaSalle’s Research & Strategy Group’s national market tracking database.
GROWING MULTIFAMILY PORTFOLIO
JLL Income Property Trust’s aggregate apartment allocation is now more than $1.1 billion with 4,035 apartment units across 17 communities. The assets represent 33 percent of the $3.6 billion, 86-property portfolio owned by the REIT.
In July 2018, formed a joint venture with Nordblom Co. to invest in The Tremont and The Huntington apartment communities in Burlington, Mass., about 25 miles northwest of downtown Boston. Nordblom Co., had developed the two properties that combined have a total of 297 units.
