Virginia Beach firm buys Newport News apartment complex

Virginia Beach-based Croatan Investments has purchased Springhouse Apartment Homes, a 432-unit apartment community in Newport News, with plans for major renovations.

"This is a beautiful community with both an incredibly stable operating history and enormous profit potential," Croatan Managing Partner Paul Van said.

Croatan plans to upgrade the common areas, including the exterior, clubhouse and pool area with the addition of an expanded fitness center, a community fire pit and sitting area, according to a news release. Each apartment interior will receive premium silver or black appliances, granite kitchen and bathroom countertops, custom kitchen and bathroom cabinetry with brushed nickel hardware, modern lighting packages and new plush carpeting and wood-grain plank flooring.

Established in 2016, the core team at Croatan Investments previously worked together at investment firm FortCap Partners, according to a news release. In early 2016, Croatan purchased four apartment assets in Atlanta in partnership with institutional fund managers. Including legacy FortCap assets managed by its team, the Croatan portfolio boasts almost a dozen apartment complexes across the Southeast from Virginia to Florida.

“We’ve always kept a close eye on Hampton Roads but have historically preferred to focus on large markets in the Southeast,” Van said.  “While we do not have a set allocation goal for the geography of our portfolio, we do believe that we still need to add more weight to Virginia to complement our other holdings. We see a window of opportunity to make good buys in an area that has historically proven to be recession-proof, currently has less expensive asset pricing than other markets and is in our own backyard. We also believe the local economy may pick up if the new administration achieves his goal of increasing the military budget. Our firm is currently evaluating making multiple investments in Hampton Roads.“