The Donaldson Group (Donaldson) of Rockville, MD, Declaration Partners (Declaration) of New York, NY, and a fund managed by DRA Advisors (DRA) have acquired Fairmont Garden Apartments, a 388-unit garden style apartment community in Annandale, Virginia. The acquisition price was approximately $84 million, and the partnership plans to invest additional capital to renovate the property.

David Webb and Maxi Leachman of CBRE Capital Markets assisted the partnership in assuming the in-place loan with Fannie Mae. The seller, Capital Investment Advisors, was represented by Jonathan Greenberg of CBRE’s investment sales group.

Situated on approximately 21 acres, Fairmont Gardens has direct access to I-495 (Capital Beltway), a major thoroughfare in Northern Virginia, providing Fairmont Gardens convenient access to the entire Washington, DC metropolitan area. It is approximately ten minutes from Tysons Corner, one of the largest employment and shopping areas in the U.S. including a 2.4 million square foot shopping mall and headquarters of Capital One, Booz Allen Hamilton, Hilton, Leidos, and M.C. Dean.

The partnership’s planned capital improvements will include replacing the original outdated central heating and cooling plant with individual high-efficiency heat pumps installed in each apartment, generating significant savings in utility consumption and cost.

“Fairmont Gardens is a well-located, well-constructed apartment community in a strong rental market,” said John Majeski, Senior Vice President, The Donaldson Group. “In addition to the replacement of the utility system, we will make significant upgrades to the building facades, common areas, and landscaping to enhance the overall look of the property and resident experience.”

“We are extremely pleased to have executed another transaction with our partners at DRA Advisors and Declaration Partners, and we will continue to seek similar opportunities,” said Carl Einsel, Chief Executive Officer, The Donaldson Group.

About Donaldson

The Donaldson Group, LLC is a full-service real estate management and investment company located in Rockville, MD. Donaldson and its affiliates have advised clients on acquisitions of approximately $2.0 billion in multifamily real estate investments, executed over $400 million in renovation work, advised clients in disposing of approximately $1.5 billion in multifamily real estate investments, and managed in excess of 35,000 apartments.

About Declaration

Declaration Partners LP is an investment firm anchored by the family office of David M. Rubenstein, the Co-Founder and Co-Executive Chairman of The Carlyle Group. Declaration’s real estate investment business provides flexible capital solutions for select real estate operators to create sustainable long-term value. The firm is headquartered in New York with an office in the Washington, DC. area.

About DRA

DRA Advisors LLC is a New York-based registered investment advisor specializing in real estate investment management services for institutional and private investors, including pension funds, university endowments, sovereign wealth funds, foundations, and insurance companies. Since DRA was founded in 1986, the firm has acquired over $34 billion of real estate, including 80 million square feet of industrial, 59 million square feet of office, 82 million square feet of retail and 74,000 multifamily units. As of September 30, 2020, DRA has $11.2 billion in gross assets under management. http://draadvisors.com.