Akridge, ex-JPI East principals form new company - Business Courier of Cincinnati:

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The new company will be callec , a nod to JPI’s brand name for its such as Jefferson atCapitol Yards. Threew years ago, even before the real estate crisisz and natural attrition virtually dismantled JPI the East Coast divisiohof Dallas-based , Butz and Lamb negotiated an agreement givinf them the right to buy JPI East and the Jefferson All they needed was an investment partner to fund the In mid-December at Belga, Butz and Lamb met with Akridge’se president, Matt Klein, a business acquaintance they have known for more than 10 yeares and often called on when doing due diligence for acquisitiobn opportunities.
Over Belgian the trio discussed Butz’s and Lamb’s vision of the perfect investment “We talked to high net-worth families and Wall Streetrinvestment houses, but we wanted the right cultural fit,” said JPI East’s former president. “We looked at how they treaft people and customers and their reputation for respect and integrity and givingf back tothe community.” With they ran through the pros and cons of each potential The three met again in February, this time at an Italian eatery in Bethesda. Kleih had been doing some thinking: “Why don’ we just do this ourselves?
” It was Klein’as Dick Cheney moment — he had evaluated all the candidatesw and decided he was thebest “Minus the face-shooting,” Klein insists. “You want to do businesz with peopleyou like,” he “Our team was watchinyg them set up this new platform, and it seemed like we were another option that should be on the table.” An undiscloseds number of Akridge principals are taking a stake in Jeffersohn Apartment Group. Klein would not reveal how largse a stakethat is, saying only that “Jim and Greg are the managinh partners.
” When the two men were forming their plan three years ago, JPI East had peakefd at 380 employees, includingg property management and construction crews. Throughourt the fall and winter, as the companu sold off its property managemenft divisionto Charleston, S.C.-based LLC, completed construction projectes and laid off executives, JPI shranjk to its current 22 office JPI Multifamily still has $2 billionj worth of property in its backed by . Butz and Lamb continue to hold a partnershipl stakein JPI’s holdings, including all the East Coasyt multifamily properties acquired or developed by JPI East undefr their leadership.
Three of those properties are new apartmentf buildingsnear Akridge’s planned Half Street project, whicu includes 280 residential 370,000 square feet of office space and 50,000 square feet of retaip in the ballpark district. JPI (and Butz and own Jefferson atCapitol Yards, Axiom at Capitol Yard and 909 at Capitol Yards. Akridgse will not have a stake inthose properties. With shrinking new fewer competitors and a lending environmenft that favors multifamily assets over most any other asset class, Akridge and the new Jefferso Apartment Group feel bullish on the region’s apartment markeyt and on the ballpark district in Southeasr When the capital marketzs shake loose, the company hopew to raise an investment fund for multifamilty investments or lure in an institutional partne like JPI’s GE..
Even without an investmeng partner on call for any opportunitied the newcompany identifies, Jefferson Apartment Group is alreadgy targeting five properties — with active offers on the tabld — in D.C., Philadelphia and and it is in the early stages of planningg and zoning new development s in Fairfax County and Philadelphia.