A Blackstone affiliate is preparing to close on an $845.2M refinancing deal for a nearly 5,000-unit multifamily portfolio.

Cortland University City in Charlotte

The investment giant’s Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust lined up the two-year floating-rate loan with the New York branch of Deutsche Bank AG, Societe Generale Financial Corp., Bank of Montreal and Nomura Corporate Funding Americas LLC, according to a presale report compiled by Fitch Ratings. Fitch expects the loan to close next month. 

BREIT is coming off a rebound year in 2025, reversing two years’ worth of weak returns with $7.2B in inflows and improved performance.

Proceeds will be used to refinance $924.5M of existing debt and pay $14.8M in closing costs. As part of the refinancing, BREIT is contributing roughly $94.1M in new equity to close the gap between the new loan and the debt being paid off.

BREIT acquired 98% of the 12-property portfolio in 2021 from Cortland Sponsors LLC at a reported cost basis of more than $1.2B. 

Blackstone did not immediately respond to Bisnow’s request for comment. 

Cortland retained the other 2% ownership and manages nine of the properties. The remaining three properties are managed by Preferred Apartment Advisors LLC.

The 4,922-unit portfolio includes: 

• the 664-unit Cortland Park 83 built in 1989 in Roswell, Georgia; 
• the 608-unit Cortland Bowery constructed in 1989 in Tampa, Florida; 
• the 510-unit Cortland Watermark built in 1998 in Marietta, Georgia; 
• the 440-unit Cortland Gateway Park constructed in 2002 in Denver; 
• the 426-unit Cortland Southpark Terraces constructed in 2009 in Austin; 
• the 384-unit Cortland Mountain Vista completed in 2009 in Mesa, Arizona; 
• the 376-unit Cortland at Fredericksburg built in 2010 in San Antonio; 
• the 372-unit Cortland University City completed in 2009 in Charlotte, North Carolina; 
• the 323-unit Cortland East Cobb completed in 1991 in Marietta, Georgia; 
• the 284-unit Cortland Falls River built in 2001 in Raleigh, North Carolina;
• the 271-unit Cortland Whitehall completed in 2018 in Charlotte;
• and the 264-unit Cortland West Boynton constructed in 2001 in Boynton Beach, Florida.

The properties are all market-rate apartments with no major concentrations of student, senior or military housing, according to the report. 

As of January, the portfolio units have a weighted average occupancy of nearly 92% and an average monthly rent of $1,728. Occupancy declined from 94% in 2022, reflecting broader softness across the Sun Belt apartment markets as new supply increases competition.

“The properties are generally well located in markets that have above average median income and population growth with nearby demand drivers,” Fitch’s presale report says.

An appraisal of each property conducted by Newmark Valuation & Advisory gave the portfolio an aggregate as-is value of more than $1.14B. Based on that appraisal, the loan-to-value ratio for the financing is 74%.

Since acquiring ownership, BREIT has invested more than $50M in capital improvements. Fitch estimated the portfolio’s net cash flow at $56.2M. 

In an increasingly digital telecommunications world, there continue to be millions of residential and business customers who depend on technology their great-grandparents may have known: POTS (Plain Old Telephone Service) lines that transmit analog signals over copper loops. Aware that such systems are rapidly becoming obsolete, providers such as VirtualPBX are helping businesses make the switch and in the process future-proof their communications. Connect CRE recently spoke with Justin Goodpaster, Sales Manager with VirtualPBX, on what’s at stake in this transition. 

Q: Are there cohorts, either business or residential, that still use POTS widely? Are they sizable enough to represent a stumbling block for phasing out landlines altogether? 

A: Yes, there are still tens of millions of copper lines in use. Many businesses rely on them for critical systems like elevators and fire alarms, while a sizable group of consumers continues to use them for straight forward telephone service as well. Our focus is primarily on the business side, with our AirDial product providing a solution that’s ideal for property managers and those managing multiple buildings. 

Q: From a regulatory standpoint, what are some of the factors behind regional differences in the rate of phasing out POTS? 

A: The breakup of AT&T’s Bell System created a patchwork of regional telecom providers, such as CenturyLink, Frontier, and AT&T, each controlling different areas. As a result, the phase-out timeline varies by region. In some areas—like Delaware, Connecticut, and parts of Michigan—providers have given clear deadlines, telling customers they must transition by a certain date because they no longer have the technicians or equipment to maintain the physical lines. Another factor is pricing. Telecom companies are using a carrot-and-stick approach, significantly increasing the cost of POTS lines to encourage migration. I’ve seen nonprofit organizations paying over $1,000 per month for a single POTS line just to connect a fire alarm. 

After the FCC deregulated the public switched telephone network in 2023, providers have been eager to exit the POTS business. While modern telecommunications rely on IP-based networks, these companies still maintain aging infrastructure, which is costly to support. Regional differences play a significant role in the phase-out. In states like New Hampshire and Connecticut, I’ve heard from customers who say there’s only one technician responsible for the entire state. If a line goes down, it could take a week to restore service. This makes transitioning to a modern solution critical—not only for cost savings and future-proofing but also for compliance. Fire alarm and elevator lines being down for a week is simply not acceptable and often violates local codes. 

Q: Does VirtualPBX work with regulators on moving to digital formats, whether on a one-to-one basis or through industry groups?  

A: Yes. Our AirDial product has  been endorsed by the FDNY and the California Fire Marshal among others. Fire alarms and elevators are particularly critical since they must meet specific codes. Regulations vary by county and state, covering requirements like backup power duration, the number of lines, and other safety measures. Non-compliance can lead to significant fines—sometimes tens of thousands of dollars—for fire and elevator systems. 

Q: Are there specific concerns that regulators bring up as far as making the transition?  

A: One of the biggest concerns is ensuring systems meet redundancy and battery backup requirements. Some customers have adopted solutions that lack these features—such as a single-line setup without backup power—only to face fines for non-compliance. Regulators want to ensure that critical systems, like elevator phones and fire alarms, continue functioning during a power outage. If someone is trapped in an elevator, for example, both the phone and alarm must remain operational. 

Another concern is network reliability. Over the past year, we’ve seen downtime incidents with AT&T and other wireless carriers. That’s why we provide redundancy through an Internet connection—typically fiber, with 4G as an additional backup. If one network goes down, communication can continue. Relying solely on a 4G SIM card can be risky because if cell towers fail, service is lost. Likewise, traditional POTS lines aren’t foolproof; if a telephone pole is damaged, the line goes down with no redundancy. 

Overall, modern solutions improve reliability, but regulators emphasize that battery backup and redundancy are essential for compliance and safety. Many customers come to us after being fined because their initial solution didn’t meet these requirements. We not only meet the requirements, we exceed them with options like customizable notifications that inform stakeholders when emergency calls are made or when their unit switches to use backup battery power.  

Q: Let’s skip ahead about five years. What do you anticipate that the telecommunications landscape will look like in 2030?  

A: Over the next two to three years, we expect increasing pressure from major providers like AT&T and CenturyLink to phase out legacy copper lines. We’re already seeing this, with AT&T raising prices and introducing alternative solutions to push customers off POTS. While it’s unlikely that the transition will be fully complete within five years, entire regions will be well on their way to shutting down their copper PSTN networks, forcing businesses and property owners to switch to cellular, IP-based solutions, or services like ours. 

For property managers and commercial real estate owners, now is the time to prepare. In some areas, businesses are still paying relatively low costs for POTS, but that will change soon—likely within the next two to three years. We’ve already seen full network shutdowns in other countries, including Canada. By 2030, I expect entire regions, if not most of the U.S., to have fully transitioned away from copper-based networks. 

IPA Capital Markets, a division of Marcus & Millichap, has secured $174 million in joint venture equity and debt financing for the acquisition of 55 Riverwalk Place, a 348-unit multifamily property located in West New York, NJ. Built in 2006, the property is located adjacent to the Hudson River, directly across from Manhattan.

The New York-based IPA Capital Markets team of Marko Kazanjian, Max Herzog, Andrew Cohen and Max Hulsh arranged acquisition financing with Bank of America on behalf of their client, a new joint venture between a New York-based multifamily owner/operator focused on acquiring value-add apartment assets in the Northeast and a global institutional investment manager.

“The acquisition represents a significant value-add opportunity for the sponsor,” said Kazanjian. “In Q4 2024 alone, our team secured approximately $150 million in JV equity partnerships with an additional $100 million in progress. We are excited about the continued momentum as we begin 2025 and look forward to further expanding our business.”

EPR Properties, a net lease REIT specializing in experiential properties, said Monday it had entered into a new amended and restated $1-billion unsecured revolving credit facility. The new facility, maturing on Oct. 2, 2028, replaces the Kansas City, MO-based company’s existing $1-billion facility. 

The new facility provides for an initial maximum principal amount of borrowing availability of $1 billion with an “accordion” feature allowing EPR to increase the total principal available to $2 billion, subject to lender consent. It also reduces the interest rate payable on outstanding loans, eliminates the tangible net worth covenant, modifies the secured debt to total asset value covenant and simplifies the method used to value assets under the facility. 

“This facility strengthens our financial foundation as we invest in experiential properties and demonstrates the confidence of our bank group in our long-term strategy,” said Greg Silvers, president and CEO of EPR.  

The Shaftesbury Capital sale includes a mix of properties around Fitzrovia.

After it abandoned attempts to sell a £250M tranche of its Fitzrovia portfolio last year, Shaftesbury Capital has found a buyer for around £65M of London-based assets, React News reports. 

Ares Management is to acquire the majority of the REIT’s holdings in the Fitzrovia area, which were among those put up for sale last summer as part of the company’s capital recycling programme, according to React.

The assets are spread across Charlotte Street and Goodge Street and are predominantly independent restaurants, cafés, pubs and bars, plus some office space. 

In total, Shaftesbury Capital owns circa 670 buildings in and around London’s West End and has been seeking buyers for about 5% of its property portfolio identified as noncore from its £5B real estate holdings. 

The landlord had been seeking offers for a larger portfolio, which included restaurants and bars, offices, stores and apartments that were valued at about £118M at the end of June, according to its financial update at the time, as the first phase of plans to dispose of about £250M of properties. 

The proposed Ares acquisition is understood to exclude the pubs and a number of other assets. Included in the deal, which totals around 100K SF, are 11 office properties, seven stores, 28 hospitality and leisure outlets, and 56 residential apartments. 

In November, Shaftesbury Capital, which had appointed CBRE to lead the disposals, scrapped plans to offload its noncore portfolio after bids fell below its expectations. Instead, it investigated selling off the assets individually or in smaller asset bundles.

The decision to sell these assets followed the completion of Shaftesbury’s merger with fellow London landlord Capco in March 2023 and the subsequent decision to focus on areas including Covent Garden and Soho.

In December, Shaftesbury Capital signed a £300M unsecured loan agreement with an initial maturity of three years and an option to extend by up to two years. The company said that combined with existing cash resources, the funds were to be used to repay the remaining £376M balance of an unsecured loan arranged at the time of the merger to repay Shaftesbury PLC secured bonds. 

JLL is advising Ares Management on the Fitzrovia portfolio deal. 

JLL has arranged the $79 million refinancing of Marina Square, a 270-unit, newly built, luxury apartment community located on the Puget Sound waterfront in Bremerton, Washington.

The JLL Capital Markets Debt Advisory team was led by Senior Director Seth Heikkila, Senior Managing Director Tom Wilson and Associate Steve Petrie, who represented the borrower, Sound West Group, to secure the five-year, floating-rate loan through TPG Real Estate Credit. Sound West Group was named by NAIOP as the 2023 Developer of the Year, with Marina Square recognized as the 2023 Mixed-Use Development of the Year.

Marina Square features studio, one-, and two-bedroom units. The building’s current retail tenant is The Market at Marina Square, and future tenants will include a YMCA and waterfront restaurant. Situated at 280 Washington Avenue within an Opportunity Zone, Marina Square is just steps away from the Bremerton Ferry Terminal and Bremerton Boardwalk.

“Over the next several years, market dynamics in Bremerton are forecasted to outperform relative to most of the country, driven in large part by exciting new developments with the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Naval Base Kitsap.”

JLL Senior Director Seth Heikkila

Register today for Connect Phoenix Multifamily & Single-Family Build-to-Rent, scheduled for April 18 at the Westin Kierland Resort & Spa, Scottsdale, AZ.