Bayside Communities, LLC has acquired the general partner interests in 20 multi-family properties that were part of bankrupt A.F. Evans Development, Inc.’s affordable/senior housing portfolio.
The portfolio includes 2,135 units located in California, Washington and Oregon. In addition, Bayside said it will be acquiring general partner interests in another 12 properties from the A.F. Evans portfolio as consents are obtained in the next few weeks.
As part of the deal, the property management arm of the bankrupt development company, Evans Property Management, Inc. The company will operate as EPMI, a Bayside Company, under the management of Debbie Weber, who previously served as president of Evans Property Management. EPMI will manage the 20 acquired properties along with an additional 47 fee-based managed properties totaling 7,300 units. The current 300 staff members of the firm will also join the new management company under Weber’s leadership.
“We were very attracted to this transaction, as well as Debbie’s leadership, because it represents an excellent business opportunity that also fulfills an important social mission,” said Marc Luzzatto, Co-Chairman and majority owner of Bayside Communities. “We look forward to finding more ‘doing well by doing good’ opportunities as we expand the EPMI/Bayside business.”
“This major multi-family acquisition includes a stable affordable housing portfolio that has been well-managed to provide reasonably priced rental units for thousands of people throughout the Western states,” said Michael Barker, Co-Chairman of Bayside Communities. “Our goal is to ensure a stable management platform for the portfolio we are acquiring as well as the many properties managed for institutional investors and other owners.”
The company said it has plans to acquire and secure management contracts on more than 20,000 affordable and senior rental units over the next five years.
Oakland, Calif.-based A.F. Evans filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2009. At the time, CEO Art Evans attributed the company’s need to restructure to a “steep decline in the condominium market and illiquid capital markets.”
Founded in 1977, the company developed more than 10,000 housing units across a variety of product types, including low-income, mixed-income, and market-rate housing in for-sale and rental multifamily properties.
