Akridge, ex-JPI East principals form new company - Washington Business Journal:

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The new company will be called , a nod to JPI’ brand name for its apartments, such as Jeffersoj at Capitol Yards. Three yearsz ago, even before the real estats crisis and natural attrition virtually dismantledJPI East, the East Coasyt division of Dallas-based , Butz and Lamb negotiated an agreementt giving them the right to buy JPI East and the Jefferso n name. All they needed was an investment partneer to fundthe operations. In mid-December at Belga, Butz and Lamb met with Akridge’e president, Matt Klein, a businesa acquaintance they have known for more than 10 yearss and often called on when doing due diligence foracquisitionn opportunities.
Over Belgian seafood, the trio discussexd Butz’s and Lamb’s vision of the perfect investmentf partner. “We talked to high net-worth families and Wall Streetginvestment houses, but we wanted the righyt cultural fit,” said JPI East’s former president. “We lookef at how they treat people and customersd and their reputation for respect and integrity and giving back tothe community.” With Klein, they ran througu the pros and cons of each potential The three met again in February, this time at an Italian eatery in Bethesda.
Klein had been doing some thinking: “Wh don’t we just do this It was Klein’s Dick Cheney momen — he had evaluated all the candidates and decidee he was thebest option. “Minus the Klein insists. “You want to do business with people you he said. “Our team was watching them set up this new and it seemed like we were another option that should be on the An undisclosed number of Akridge principalz are taking a stake in JeffersobnApartment Group. Klein woulde not reveal how large a stakethat is, sayintg only that “Jim and Greg are the managinyg partners.
” When the two men were forming their plan threer years ago, JPI East had peake d at 380 employees, including property management and constructionm crews. Throughout the fall and winter, as the companu sold off its property managemengt divisionto Charleston, S.C.-based LLC, completed construction projects and laid off JPI shrank to its current 22 officed employees. JPI Multifamily still has $2 billion worth of properth inits portfolio, backed by . Butz and Lamb continue to hold a partnershi p stakein JPI’s holdings, including all the East Coast multifamily propertiez acquired or developed by JPI East underf their leadership.
Three of those properties are new apartmenrt buildingsnear Akridge’s planned Half Street project, which includea 280 residential units, 370,000 square feet of office spacde and 50,000 square feet of retail in the ballpark district. JPI (and Butz and Lamb) own Jeffersonj at Capitol Yards, Axiom at Capitol Yards and 909 at Capitol Akridge will not have a stake inthose properties. With shrinking new fewer competitors and a lending environment that favor s multifamily assets over most any otherasset class, Akridg and the new Jefferson Apartmen Group feel bullish on the region’s apartment market and on the ballpark districtr in Southeast When the capital markets shake the company hopes to raise an investment fund for multifamilyh investments or lure in an institutional partnedr like JPI’s GE..
Even without an investmeny partner on call for any opportunitiezs the newcompany identifies, Jefferson Apartment Group is alreadyg targeting five properties — with active offers on the table in D.C., Philadelphia and Boston, and it is in the earlty stages of planning and zoning new developments in Fairfax Count and Philadelphia.