Los Angeles-based Belay Investment Group has acquired a 49% interest in a five-property portfolio of workforce housing assets assembled by Miami-based Eagle Property Capital Investments, which sponsors the portfolio’s 51% interest holder, EPC Fund III. Belay and EPC have also entered into a programmatic joint venture, Belay-EPC PJV, through which they will acquire and reposition up to $269 million in Class B and Class C multifamily properties, primarily in Florida and Texas.
Belay-EPC PJV’s repositioning strategies include capital and operational improvements, as well as optionality around an institutional exit. This will allow the joint venture’s apartment communities to appeal to middle-income renters in high-growth markets.
EPC principals and co-founders Gerardo Mahuad and Rodrigo Conesa will apply the firm's existing focus on serving middle-income Hispanic renters, who are projected to make up more than half the growth in renter households through 2023, to the joint venture's goals. Vidalta Property Management, an entity wholly owned by the EPC, will manage and execute value-enhancement strategies at the investment firm’s properties.
“We are very excited about our venture with EPC to pursue a strategy that so clearly capitalizes on one of the strongest demographic trends in the U.S., the growth of the Hispanic middle class,” said Barry Chase, Managing Principal of Belay.
“Our partnership with Belay marks a significant point in the evolution of our firm. It will uniquely position EPC as a leader in our business segment. We will draw on Belay’s industry-leading expertise and best business practices to enhance and strengthen our investment management platform,” said Gerardo Mahuad, Managing Principal of EPC.
