Multifamily Influencers
Here are our picks for the top individuals, teams and companies in the multifamily sector from the past year.
ORGANIZATIONS
OneWall Communities
Stamford, CT-based OneWall Communities approaches the multifamily market with vertically-integrated management, rigorous data-driven asset selection and repeatable processes that produce consistent outcomes. The real estate owner, operator and investment firm focuses on transit and lifestyle oriented multifamily workforce housing in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions. Founded in 2009, OneWall Communities started in the student housing sector before soon identifying opportunities in the senior living market. In 2012, the firm pivoted to multifamily housing and formulated a strategy that has successfully guided the firm’s investments ever since. OneWall Communities has rapidly grown in recent years; acquiring more than 5,500 units since 2018.
In 2019, the company closed its largest single acquisition to date totaling $180 million, and since January 2020, it has bought and sold $631 million worth of naturally affordable workforce housing, including the purchase of nearly 2,000 units in the Harrisburg, Baltimore and D.C. metro areas, and the sale of more than 2,400 apartments in Essex County, NJ. Rather than buying and
developing luxury housing in urban centers during the pandemic, OneWall Communities focused on acquiring low-risk assets at favorable prices, adding operational and financial value and generating excess risk-adjusted returns. The company was also early to the workforce housing investment market by buying well-located suburban assets below replacement costs and investing
capital in amenities and renovations. ◆