Azul Apartments

Azul is located in the Bammel neighborhood of Northwest Houston, and benefits strongly from Houston’s ongoing outward population growth –over 80% of Harris County’s population growth in the past 15 years has occurred in unincorporated Harris County. The property sits on the FM-1960 corridor, midway between Amazon distribution centers HOU7(Sam Houston Tollway and 249 –13min / 5.4mi) and HOU2 (Greenspoint, SWElla Blvd –12min / 6.4mi), with typical centers employing over 1500workers. Other area demand drivers include HCA Houston Healthcare Northwest hospital, Willowbrook Mall, Vintage Park – 380ac mixed-use, and George BushInternational Airport (IAH).

LoneStar Capital was the buyer of choice for this closely-shopped off-market asset due to our existing ownership of Parc @ Champion Forest right next door (232 units) as well as our reputation in the market / previous transaction history with this brokerage group – the only firm with a good line to this elusive seller. We were first presented this opportunity last year but the non-professional seller withdrew amidst market turmoil.Persistence paid off with the first call when eventually the seller met the market.

Current ownership originally built both Azul and the adjacent gas station and is a convenience store operator by trade, rather than an apartment operator, leaving plenty of operational upside. Our existing footprint at Parc will help business plan execution and leasing by cross-selling to help drive traffic and occupancy. Units are 46.7% / 53.3% mix of Studio / 1x and 2/3-bed plans, averaging 830 square feet (weighted avg.) at $1,265 monthly rent. All units have eat-in kitchens with quartz counters, stainless ranges, gooseneck sink, in unit washer/dryer, and modern light fixtures. While these are quality finishes, Lone Star may complement the existing offering with tile backsplashes and/or tech package. In addition, utilities, currently below market at ~$30/u/month, will be raised to market at ~$50/u /month.