North Private Client Group sells 225 Taft Avenue for $2.65 million

Investment sales broker Northeast Private Client Group has sold a student housing property at 225 Taft Ave. Edward Jordan, JD, CCIM, the firm's managing director, represented the seller, Redbrick Partners of Washington, D.C. in the $2.65 million transaction. The student housing property, known as Taft Commons, comprises twenty townhouse style units in an elevator building that has been leased to Sacred Heart University since the mid-1990s. The University recently signed a three-year lease extension through 2015. "Our recent sale of Taft Commons sends a clear signal that the student housing market continues to offer an attractive alternative to other asset types," said Jordan. "In this instance, the asset was master leased to and managed by the University, minimizing the vacancy risk to the investor as well as the expenses typically associated with management and operations." The seller, a Washington, D.C.- based REIT, originally acquired the property in a transaction brokered by Jordan in March 2005. The buyer, a New Jersey-based fund, purchased the Taft Commons property for a price that equates to $132,500 per unit, or $24,090 per bed, a common indicator in student housing. The sales price represents a capitalization rate of 9.% on the current year's net operating income. The buyer was represented in the transaction by Christopher Tichio of Alexander Summer LLC.