ECI Group and ApexOne Launch Joint Venture to Form ApexOne ECI Multifamily Fund Six Targeting Five Hundred Million in Equity Across Sunbelt Midwest and Mountain West

ECI Group and ApexOne Investment Partners have launched a strategic joint venture to form ApexOne-ECI Multifamily Fund VI, LP, targeting institutional-quality multifamily assets across the Sunbelt, Midwest, and Mountain West. The Fund will pursue total equity capitalization of $500 million and focus on acquiring, redeveloping, renovating, leasing, and managing existing multifamily properties.

ECI and ApexOne will serve as co-general partners and have committed to co-invest, as called, more than $100 million of the Fund's $500 million equity capitalization alongside committed investor equity. ECI’s capital commitment is supported by Almanac Realty Investors, a business unit of Neuberger Berman, which has committed up to $350 million to support ECI’s platform expansion, including its investment in the Fund.

The Fund intends to execute a diversified growth-and-income strategy through disciplined capital allocation with an emphasis on existing assets rather than ground-up development. Targeted asset types include newer-vintage and traditional multifamily communities, including workforce housing, with value-add opportunities intended to generate current cash flow while seeking market appreciation.

"Partnering with ECI brings together a fully integrated operating platform with a proven ability to drive performance at the property level, alongside a shared strength in identifying and executing on investment opportunities," said Ernest Johnson, Partner and Executive Managing Director of ApexOne. "Their innovative, AI-enabled approach to leasing, resident engagement, and asset management, combined with a long track record across market cycles and a meaningful capital commitment alongside investors, made them an ideal partner for this fund. We share a strong conviction that this is an attractive point in the real estate cycle to invest in, with compelling opportunities emerging across high-quality assets. In this environment, we believe ECI is exceptionally well positioned to execute at the property level and capitalize on the opportunities ahead."

Collectively, ECI and ApexOne have acquired or developed approximately 50,000 units and invested over $7 billion across more than 160 multifamily communities. The partners have operated and invested in over 130 submarkets, and their senior executives bring more than 300 years of combined multifamily experience.

"Forming this strategic partnership with ApexOne, an established multifamily fund manager, provides ECI with an opportunity to flex its operational excellence and efficiencies in multifamily investments in targeted high-growth markets while strengthening our institutional investor access and platform," said ECI Chief Executive Officer and Chief Operating Officer, Seth Greenberg. "Our Fund investment strategy focuses on our shared belief in, and experience with, compelling investment opportunities driven by disruption in the multifamily sector. These conditions include distressed sale conditions, near-term supply and demand imbalances, and affordability factors in single-family home ownership for many single- and double-income families. We also expect to capitalize on undercapitalized and under-managed conditions at many target assets, bringing ECI's exceptional track record in multifamily operations to bear to improve occupancy, elevate resident satisfaction, and increase marketing efficiencies."

This joint venture aligns institutional capital with an operating-first approach to value-add multifamily investing. Multifamily Leadership will continue to track Fund VI as it deploys capital and executes its targeted strategy in the identified regions.