Shifting demographics make suburban ring housing more desirable
Newmark announces the $103M sale of The Edition, a 351-unit multifamily asset located at 3401 East-West Highway in Hyattsville, MD. The property was marketed by Newmark on behalf of a venture between Fore Property Company and PCCP, LLC and sold to Akelius. Newmark’s Vice Chairmen Christine Espenshade and Robert Garrish were the sole brokers on the transaction.
The property’s location in Hyattsville offers an upwardly mobile population of residents who have quick access to mass transit. The shifting demographics of COVID-19 have made walkable suburban-like areas more in-demand as the workforce continues to stay local and require more living space. The Edition offers easy walkability to a host of retail and lifestyle amenities and several prominent employers such as the National Center for Health Statistics, Prince George’s Community College, and The Mall at Prince George’s.
“During COVID-19, we’ve witnessed many people moving out of dense urban cores into the first suburban ring that offers more living space, a lower cost of living and a walkable community,” said Espenshade. “The Edition is a Class A rental property in an up-and-coming location that garnered a lot of interest from potential investors due to its high-quality offerings and desirable location in the heart of the stable Mid-Atlantic market.”
According to Newmark Research, in a post-pandemic era, it is likely that more people will work remotely from their homes than was occurring pre-pandemic. Indicators suggest the remote workforce will remain at least somewhat elevated as a legacy of COVID-19. Regardless, underlying growth trends in remote working already present pre-pandemic will likely cause a greater percentage of renters to consider layout, design, amenities and location carefully concerning remote work needs.
This transaction marks the buyer’s first purchase in Maryland. New ownership, Akelius, is an international property owner with approximately 2,000 rental apartments in Metro DC in addition to other real estate holdings across the globe. Their investment strategy focuses on walkable, sought-after inner-city locations, with 80% of their portfolio located within close proximity to city centers.
The Edition is a luxury, transit-oriented, mid-rise rental community located on the border of Washington, DC in Hyattsville, MD, built on the former Kiplinger’s new site. The LEED Silver-certified property was delivered in 2019 and consists of 351 attractively appointed market-rate apartment homes, including gourmet kitchens, energy-efficient, stainless steel appliances, hardwood-style flooring, ground floor and podium units, expansive walk-in closets and stackable washers and dryers. The property also features an unmatched amenities package to include a two-story, state-of-the-art fitness center, resort-style pool with lounge seating, outdoor gaming area with ping pong, expansive courtyard with fire pit and BBQ grills, clubroom with billiards and lounge seating, 24-hour resident technology bar, pet spa and dog park and package reception lockers.
The property is a two-minute walk from the Prince George’s Plaza Metro Station. Residents can travel to the University of Maryland’s main campus or Howard University by passenger rail in less than 10 minutes and reach downtown Washington, DC, in roughly 20 minutes. Prince George’s County is the second-largest county in Maryland with more than 900,000 residents, buoyed by a diverse and well-educated employment base. Due to its vast transit network and proximity to Washington, DC, and the presence of multiple colleges and universities in the area, the County can support a variety of high value industries, including information technology, aerospace, defense, and the federal government. Notable employers in Prince George’s County include the University of Maryland, Joint Base Andrews, Internal Revenue Service, US Census Bureau, United Parcel Service, and NASA.
