HH Fund has refinanced a Baltimore student housing community located across the street from Johns Hopkins University. Lument’s Tim Smits arranged the refinancing loan, which has a five-year fixed-rate mortgage with interest only, through Freddie Mac’s Capital Markets Execution program.
According to Lument, the loan lets HH Fund exit a previous short-term loan that the company took on with its acquisition of Nine East 33rd in 2021. According to Yardi Matrix, the company utilized a $62 million loan to acquire the student housing community from Johns Hopkins University in December 2021. The university had acquired the community from Armada Hoffler a month prior.
Nine East 33rd was built in 2016 and offers 568 beds spread throughout 157 fully-furnished units. The units come in one-, two-, three- and four-bedroom floorplans, ranging from 590 to 1,190 square feet. The units were built with in-unit washers and dryers, individual bedroom locks and bathrooms with separated showers. According to Yardi Matrix data, the community is 51.2 percent pre-leased for the 2024 school year.
The community has direct access to Johns Hopkins University and is within walking distance to most of the university’s major buildings. Residents are a short commute from the area’s attractions, including the Baltimore Museum of Art, The Maryland Zoo and Sherwood Gardens. The community offers an approximately 10-minute commute to downtown Baltimore and its many retail, restaurant and entertainment options.
Building up a Baltimore portfolio
Prior to acquiring Nine East 33rd, HH Fund had already been building up a portfolio of student housing communities in Baltimore near the area’s universities. The company acquired HH Cresmont, also located near Johns Hopkins, in December 2015. More recently, HH Fund acquired Marble Hall Gardens, located within walking distance of Morgan State University.
Overall, the company targets student housing communities in markets that have a top-ranked university with at least 15,000 students. HH Fund’s current portfolio includes more than 7,000 beds in 15 properties located across California, Georgia, Missouri, Illinois, Maryland, Pennsylvania and New York.
