Article courtesy of www.dailypress.com http://www.dailypress.com/business/tidewater/dp-nws-manage-portfolio-1016-20141016,0,1410622.story
By J. Elias O’Neal
joneal@dailypress.com
7:43 PM EDT, October 15, 2014
NEWPORT NEWS
Virginia Beach-based Franklin Johnston Group is expanding its management footprint on the Peninsula after seizing a Portsmouth multifamily builder’s portfolio.
Taylor Franklin, Franklin Johnston Group chief operating officer, said Tuesday his firm will manage Waverton Associates’ apartment properties across Hampton Roads and Richmond.
The transfer of management took effect Oct. 1, Franklin said.
Of the 2,200 units set to fall under the multifamily firm, 1,194 units are in Newport News.
Franklin Johnston will now oversee operations at Waverton Impressions at 501 Coral Key Place; Meridian Parkside at Summit Lane; and Ashton Green at 100 Marshview Drive. The firm will also manage Denbigh Village, a new 244-unit apartment community under construction at 14353 Deloice Cresent in the Denbigh section of the city.
The firm will also manage the Meridian Harbourview in Suffolk; and the Waverton Chesapeake in Chesapeake.
Franklin said the firm plans to keep much of its 25 to 30 leasing and management staff at its Newport News properties in place and will make staffing and leasing changes as needed.
The recent management agreement will add to Franklin Johnston’s presence on the Peninsula.
Franklin Johnston Group now develops, redevelops and manages more than 9,000 multifamily units at 45 properties across the mid-Atlantic and Southeast.
Before the acquisition, the firm managed seven units throughout Hampton and Newport News, including Waterford Pointe, a large-scale apartment community undergoing an extensive interior and exterior renovation 105 Lakeshore Drive East in Hampton’s Coliseum Central; and the new Heritage Forest apartments at 5100 Marshall Ave. in south Newport News.
“When we launched The Franklin Johnston Group a little over a year ago, one of our goals was to associate ourselves with the top tier owners and developers of apartment communities,” Franklin said. “Waverton Associates not only fits the top tier description, but they also share common core values with our company. Our team is extremely excited about managing these communities, and we appreciate the confidence Waverton Associates has placed in us.”
Franklin Johnston’s management agreement comes a month after four apartments across Hampton and Newport News have been sold to new owners.
Colorado Springs, Colo.,-based real estate investment firm Hartford at Riverwalk LLC recently purchased the RiverWalk Apartments at 541 Randolph Road in Newport News, and plans to renovate all 264 units and rename the complex Hartford at Anchor Point.
Meanwhile, a Charlotte-based Ginkgo Residential closed on the purchase of three Class A apartment communities with a total of 614 units: Bridgewater on the Lake at 507 Marcella Road, and Lake Ridge at 900 Lake Ridge Road in the Coliseum District of Hampton from BIR Bridgewater LLC and BIR Lake Ridge LLC, respectively. The firm also purchased The Reserves at Arboretum at 5000 Reserve Way in the greater Oyster Point section of Newport News from the Berkshire Group.
