Boston firm buys Pegasus Landing in Brunswick

Courtesy / Pegasus Landing The 190-unit development was sold to Boston firm Jones Street Investment Partners.

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By Jessica Hall

Jones Street Investment Partners, a Boston private equity firm focused on real estate, acquired the 190-unit Pegasus Landing development in Brunswick as it seeks opportunities in Maine as the state benefits from a flood of new residents during the pandemic.

The so-called bachelor enlisted quarters were built for the Navy in 2002. The two-bedroom rental units, each 750 square feet, on Brunswick Landing are fully occupied.

Texas-based Presidium Group acquired the complex in 2018 and renovated all 190 residences in 20 buildings. Initially, Presidium was not planning on selling the units and had intended to refinance the property. The deal to sell the units, however, became available and made sense, said partner Chris Rhoades.

Terms weren't disclosed.

Presidium recently acquired the Pepperell Mill complex in Biddeford and is redeveloping the Time & Temperature Building in Portland into a luxury hotel. The firm still has other housing units in Brunswick.

“There’s incredible interest in the Portland market and job growth and work from home and enjoying a lifestyle they can’t get in bigger metros has only intensified that,” said Biria St. John, the broker on the deal and vice chairman of CBRE in Boston. “Portland and coastal Maine are incredibly strong.”

The Pegasus Landing deal also marks a need for new growth areas after bigger cities have already been so competitive and returns on investment have narrowed.

“The investment market here in Boston and tier one cities has become more challenging. Yields have compressed. So, people are looking to secondary markets like New Hampshire and Maine for investments,” St. John said. “There’s a lot of capital coming from out of market, but to attract out of state investors, you need economies of scale."

Jones Street said the investment, in part, made sense because Brunswick is benefitting as an outpost of Portland.

“We love, and have transacted successfully in, the Portland market. We see Brunswick as a compelling outer suburb of Portland with the added benefit of a vibrant immediate economy nearby thanks to Bowdoin College, Bath Iron Works, and other employers and amenities,” Jones Street said in a statement.

“Concerning Maine’s attractiveness as a real estate investment market, the secret has long been out on phenomena like Maine’s livability and Portland’s food scene. Now, with remote work’s growing prevalence, you are seeing more and more professionals who once needed to live nearby major cities in order to have a manageable commute take into account many other factors when choosing where to live. We see southern Maine as an area of the country benefiting from this trend,” Jones Street said.

Pegasus Landing is the only property Jones Street currently owns in Maine after the firm sold 620 apartment units in South Portland last December. The firm is set to begin construction on a new multifamily development in Kittery.