Knightvest Capital, a Dallas-based multifamily investment manager, announced today the acquisition of a three-property portfolio totaling 1,027 units in Round Rock and Austin, Texas, according to a press release shared with Multifamily Dive. The deal represents the firm's 20th investment in its Fund II vehicle.

Portfolio Overview and Transaction Details

The acquired garden-style properties are located within the Austin metropolitan area, with two assets in Round Rock and one in the nearby Lakeline/Lake Creek submarket. The seller was not disclosed in the release, though the Austin Business Journal previously reported that Lynd Living purchased Lakeside at La Frontera and The Enclave Frontera in March 2020. Lynd did not respond to requests for comment.

The portfolio comprises:

  • Enclave at La Frontera — 411 units, built in 2004, to be renamed Brixton
  • Lakeside at La Frontera — 366 units, built in 2001, to be renamed Calder
  • Legends Lake Creek — 250 units, built in 2001, to be renamed Sutton

Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Renovation and Rebranding Plans

Knightvest plans to implement its management platform across the portfolio and undertake a comprehensive renovation program. Planned improvements include exterior repainting, upgrades to common-area amenities, and interior updates for a subset of units featuring new flooring, fixtures, and quartz countertops.

“We want to take about 20% to 25% of the units to a like-new condition that will literally mimic new construction,” Knightvest Founder and CEO David Moore told Multifamily Dive. “It will be like new, and then touch all the common areas.”

Location and Market Context

Enclave and Lakeside sit adjacent to each other within the La Frontera master-planned mixed-use development in Round Rock. Legends Lake Creek is approximately 6 miles to the west in the Lakeline/Lake Creek submarket. The portfolio is situated in Northwest Austin’s Silicon Hills corridor, offering convenient access to major employment centers, including Dell’s world headquarters in Round Rock, which anchors the immediate area surrounding La Frontera. Apple’s second Austin campus, as well as Samsung, Amazon, Texas Children’s Hospital, and other major technology, life sciences, and healthcare employers, are within minutes of the properties.

Beyond the robust employment market, Moore cited the area’s school system as a major draw. “Round Rock is where Dell is and there are a whole lot of jobs, but the real reason is you're in a school system that has A-rated schools,” he said.

Deep Discount Acquisition

Moore said the properties were last purchased at “peak pricing” in the early 2020s, and Knightvest acquired the assets at a significant discount to their previous sale price. “Austin is out of favor,” Moore said. “Everyone understands the supply story. Every developer started building and the basis really has been reset. I don't know if it's all the way to half, but it's a big discount to what it traded for previously.”

However, Moore noted that the Silicon Hills portfolio is in better condition than some other deeply discounted apartment properties currently hitting the Texas market. “The difference here is these were 25-year-old properties in a good location, not the ‘70s and ‘80s properties in a bad location,” he told Multifamily Dive.

Firm Track Record and Future Deals

The closing represents the 20th investment in Knightvest’s Fund II. Since its founding in 2007, the firm has invested over $12 billion to acquire more than 65,000 units across high-growth metro areas in Georgia, Texas, Arizona, the Carolinas, and Florida, per the firm’s website. Knightvest was No. 30 on the latest National Multifamily Housing Council Top 50 list with 33,603 units.

Moore indicated the firm is actively seeking more acquisitions. He said Knightvest currently has a foreclosure in North Dallas under contract for $20 million less than the prior loan basis. “We want to buy 2000s-ish deals, but at a big discount,” Moore said. “So the next one [in Dallas] is almost 20% under the prior loan basis. They already foreclosed on the equity, and then the lender is taking a haircut.”

Click here to sign up to receive multifamily and apartment news like this article in your inbox every weekday.