AXA IM JV buys suburban Washington apartments

AXA Investment Managers – Real Assets (AXA IM) has partnered with Cortland Partners to purchase an apartment complex in suburban Washington DC, the firms announced. They declined to reveal the purchase price.

The real estate subsidiary of French insurance giant AXA teamed up with the multifamily operator for the first time to buy Stoneridge Apartments (pictured), a 630-unit complex at 19900 Broad Vista Ashburn, Virginia, from Crow Holdings. The seller previously purchased the complex in September 2011 from Lehman Brothers Holdings for $120.8 million, according to real estate data provider Real Capital Analytics.

The new owners are planning value-added interior upgrades to the property, built in 2000. Amenities at Stoneridge Apartments include two swimming pools, a club house and a fitness center. Cortland will oversee the property, the firms said in a statement Tuesday.

“Stonebridge Apartments provides a prime located opportunity to create value in the growing market of northern Virginia which benefits from strong economic fundamentals,” said Steve McCarthy, AXA IM’s US head of asset management and transactions, in a statement. “With socioeconomic factors pointing to continued growth in this submarket, we will look to capitalize on these favorable conditions for the benefit of our clients.”

AXA IM – Real Assets’ other investments in the Washington DC area include triple net leased retail properties, a spokesperson told PERE.

On Monday, PERE reported that the firm completed the acquisition of a core office asset in Milan’s commercial district of Fiera for €220 million. The building, located in Via Monte Rosa 91, was purchased on behalf of two funds managed by AXA IM – Real Assets, Selectiv’ Immo and CoRE Europe Funds. Both vehicles target high-quality, core properties in major European cities.

The firm had more than €65 billion in real assets under management as of the end of March, according to the Tuesday statement.