In July 2019, we invested roughly $18.1 million in the acquisition and renovation of the Amira at Westly, a 360-unit apartment community in Tampa, Florida.

Following our investment, our partner undertook a value-add plan and successfully completed renovations to the property’s unimproved units approximately a year later, resulting in increases in rental income and rent collections at nearly 100%, reflecting the strong execution of the improvements and our partner’s property management. (“Value-add” refers to planned development or work at a property that is expected to increase that real estate’s underlying value, such as renovations or the introduction of new amenities.)

Today, with the improvements to the property and the resultant increases in income, we’re pleased to share that we’ve obtained a new supplemental loan in the amount of approximately $13 million. As part of the refinancing, a new appraisal of the property valued Amira at Westly at $85.3 million — a 33% increase over the $64 million purchase price (of which we contributed roughly $18.1 million).

Based on the impressive execution of the initial value-add plan, our partner has kicked off a new phase of development at Amira at Westly, the construction of 48 brand new units (a 13% increase over existing) on a previously vacant section of the property.

We anticipate that when complete the new apartments will generate additional, strong rental income in line with the rental income premiums we’ve seen with the renovations so far, while simultaneously improving the property’s underlying value, driving appreciation to be realized in the case of our eventual sale. We’ve already broken ground on this next phase, and construction is underway — see the photos above for a quick glimpse at initial progress.

Investor FAQ: How does this project impact your portfolio?

This investment is structured as equity, which means we are the owners of the property and entitled to our share of rental income, plus any future increase in the value of the property. As an investor, you can expect to see this impact your return in two ways. Any additional rental income would contribute to quarterly dividends, while any increase in the property value would be captured in adjustments to the Growth eREIT’s net asset value (NAV) per share.

As always, if you have any questions or feedback, please visit our help center or reach out to us at investments@fundrise.com.