Three Lehigh Valley apartment complexes sell for $20M

A Philadelphia-based commercial real estate firm has announced the sale of three multifamily properties in the Lehigh Valley totaling more than $20 million. 

SCOPE Commercial Real Estate Services, LLC, a middle-market multifamily investment sales firm, said the transaction totaling 132 units, located throughout the Lehigh Valley region and equaled a price of $151,742 per unit.  

The three multifamily properties involved in the transaction included Aspen Apartments. That’s an 80-unit property in Whitehall that sold for $11.83 million. 

Also sold was 501-26 S Austin Street, a 24-unit property in Allentown, which sold for $3.8 million. 

A 28-unit property at 855-868 N Ulster Street in Allentown sold for $4.4 million. 

Zeke Rotter, vice president at SCOPE, led the transaction on behalf of the deal team for all three transactions.  

SCOPE had the exclusive listing to market 501-26 S Austin Street and 855- 868 N Ulster Street on behalf of a regional family office. The seller of the two properties entered into a 1031-exchange and purchased Aspen Apartments on an off-market opportunity as the upleg in the exchange, Rotter said in a release.  

“The buyer of Aspen Apartments capitalized on the equity created from the 52 units to scale their portfolio while streamlining management under one roof,” said Rotter. “Moreover, they will continue to benefit from their investment in one of the Northeast’s leading markets for rent, job, and population growth. The sale of these three transactions underscores the strong investor demand for quality multifamily assets in high-growth areas like the Lehigh Valley.”  

Aspen Apartments, located at 3 Maryland Circle in Whitehall, is a three-story apartment complex containing 80 units. The units feature a mixture of one-, two-, and three-bedroom layouts ranging from 1,080 square feet to 1,600 square feet.  

Select units have been renovated with new flooring, paint, and remodeled kitchens and bathrooms. Aspen is situated off of MacArthur Road. 

The units at 501-26 S Austin Street were constructed in 1985 and 2003 in two phases.  

The property consists of 24 flats and is comprised of all two-bedroom, one-bathroom units that feature private garages, balconies and both modern and classic finishes.  

The 1970-vintage 855-868 N Ulster Street consists of townhomes and apartments totaling 28 units. The units are a mixture of renovated and unrenovated, some featuring upgrades to the kitchen cabinetry, bathroom fixtures, new stainless-steel appliances, new flooring, and balcony updates.  

Ulster Street offers a unit mixture of two-bedroom apartments and two- and three-bedroom townhomes, with an average unit size of 935 square feet.  

The Austin Street and Ulster Street properties are situated just 2.5 miles from each other, both in the East Allentown submarket, Rotter said.