Welcome to Merion Realty Partners

Merion Milford

Merion acquired the 246-unit apartment community in February 2023. The community is situated on 22 acres and consists of seven traditional garden style three-story buildings, a clubhouse-leasing center, two detached garage buildings and four detached carports. The property has immediate direct access to I-95 and is located near other major highways such as the Merritt Parkway, the Milford Parkway, Route 1 and is a 20 minute drive to the center of downtown New Haven (north) or Bridgeport (south).

Merion Milford was constructed in 2004 and although the property was professionally managed and maintained over the years, none of the 246 units have been upgraded. It is rare to find a nearly 20 year old asset that is well maintained, yet has not undergone any level of coordinated interior upgrade program. The units themselves show well and are not dated in floorplan and amenities, however, the units have white cabinets with white painted surfaces on the walls, ceilings, trim and dated one inch white window blinds. The appliance package is white as well with fluorescent ceiling fixtures and tan carpeting throughout the living area and plain sheet vinyl kitchen and bathroom flooring. Merion Milford was underwritten to upgrade all of the market-rate units over the hold period.

Although the property was offered free and clear of debt, Merion underwrote the asset with the assumption of seller’s existing 4.05% fixed rate, interest only, Freddie Mac mortgage loan that will mature in January 2025. The assumption will act as a short term bridge loan and will allow Merion’s property management team to execute the Merion “Simply Modern” value-add interior unit upgrade. Upon maturity of the loan, Merion has underwritten a permanent loan that should provide proceeds sufficient to return a percentage of investors initial equity investment while maintaining a current yield on remaining invested capital.

Foxrun Apartments and North Pointe Apartments 

On June 28, 2025 Merion acquired Foxrun Apartments (468 units) and North Pointe Apartments (198 units) which are located within five miles of one another in Clifton Park, NY, a demographically strong suburb of Albany approximately 15 miles south of Saratoga Springs and six miles east of Schenectady. The scale of a two property 666-unit portfolio will afford Merion an immediate critical mass of units to economically manage the assets and share resources. Key to the execution of the acquisition is the in-place assumable, 4.18% fixed-rate, Fannie Mae debt encumbering each property. Each loan has four years of remaining interest only payments, which then will amortize on a 30-year schedule maturing in May 2034. Based on market rates at the time of closing, a new Fannie Mae loan would carry an interest rate of approximately 5.8%. The debt terms also offer the partnership an opportunity to access Fannie Mae’s supplemental loan program. The partnership will seek to place a supplemental loan on each property in year two to fund underwritten future capital needs and potentially return a portion of invested capital to investors, which would further enhance current return on remaining invested capital. Foxrun and North Pointe are expected to produce strong current cash returns on invested capital within the first year, growing over time as operations improve. As is typical with Merion’s investments, the partnership will complete a cost segregation study to optimize the available depreciation benefits which will reduce the majority of taxable income during the underwritten seven-year hold period. Both assets offer significant upside via a value-add program that Merion has underwritten. Both assets suffer from deferred maintenance and lack of attention from past ownership. Both assets trail the Clifton Park apartment market in terms of asking rent and market occupancy. A robust initial capital improvement budget has been underwritten and will be immediately deployed during the first year of ownership. The current capital improvement budget includes items such as landscaping, signage, parking lot paving, clubhouse refresh, amenity upgrades, paint, wood replacement, installation of central trash compactors, roofing, interior corridor paint and carpeting and general cleanup of the properties. Merion will also implement Merion’s “Simply Modern” interior unit upgrade program which includes the complete renovation of the kitchens and bathrooms, upgraded flooring, plumbing and lighting fixtures, modern appliance package and other enhancements. The large 41-acre Foxrun community sits within a heavily wooded area with a large pond at its front entrance that Merion will enhance with amenities. We believe the property has the attributes that should benefit greatly from the underwritten value-add business plan. Foxrun is also located within a residential area with new homes under construction that start at $600,000, and a nearby community with homes in the $700,000 range. North Pointe also has not received any significant capital over the past several years yet has managed to maintain a higher occupancy and with rents that are only $60 below that of Foxrun, despite being an older vintage with smaller unit floorplans. This is a result of its optimal location amongst the main retail corridor and convenient proximity to the major highways. The community has large balconies and although it has dated interior corridors, it does have a “retro-1960’s appeal” that Merion expects to enhance and market to residents. We believe new management, an enhanced marketing program and an injection of capital to preserve and enhance the asset should place North Pointe in a more competitive position to compete for residents.

Merion Multifamily Fund III

Barclay Chase at Marlton | Marlton Gateway | Barclay Glen at Cross Keys | Halstead Place

Merion Realty Partners acquired a four-property apartment portfolio consisting of 640 multifamily apartment units located in three distinct New Jersey sub-markets. The portfolio was acquired from the developer in what was considered an “off-market” transaction in that Merion did not participate in an open market bidding process. Merion invited investors to participate in a fully identified $50 million fund and the transaction closed in April 2021. Since acquisition, Merion has executed their business plan and have generated consistent quarterly returns to investors.

The properties were constructed between 2013 and 2019 and all experienced swift lease-up and maintained high occupancies with very little delinquency through COVID. The assets are well constructed with thoughtful building design and each have a distinct advantage in superior finishes and amenity packages within their respective submarkets. Merion premised their investment strategy on the knowledge that prior ownership had not capitalized on the assets’ superiority to other recently constructed competitors that may have lower quality, or “builder grade” finishes.

Upon acquisition, Merion Residential put forth a new marketing strategy and trained existing and new employees. An exterior capital improvement plan was immediately executed that included new signage, landscaping improvements, and general refresh. These improvements along with resident outreach were very well received by existing and new residents. Merion also implemented the use of revenue optimization software that helped establish rental rates for specific unit types which quickly proved Merion’s understanding that the properties trailed their competitors when they should be market leaders. While most of the properties in the portfolio had very nice interior finishes, there was an opportunity to upgrade select units to test market demand for a higher quality level of finish, for a premium. Merion’s “Simply Modern” upgraded units have outpaced our initial underwriting in terms of demand for those units and the rent premiums received.

Merion does not take on undue risk with floating rate debt and placed Freddie Mac seven-year fixed rate debt on Barclay Glen and Fannie Mae ten-year fixed rate debt on Barclay Chase and Marlton Gateway. The 35 unit Halstead property was underwritten to a two to three year hold and was financed with floating rate debt in order to allow for flexibility of prepayment. It is expected that this property will be sold in 2024. Further hedging future exposure to increased expenses, Barclay Chase was acquired with the balance of a Payment in Lieu of Taxes (“PILOT”) agreement that expires in 2038. The PILOT agreement helps mitigate against any real estate tax reassessment risk for the duration of the PILOT term and is assumable by future purchasers of the property.

The properties held within the portfolio enjoy strong occupancy and demand within their respective markets. The Merion Multifamily Fund III continues to generate consistent quarterly returns to investors with appreciation of equity value since acquisition.