Last year, Pittsburgh saw historically low sales of multifamily properties, in large part due to high interest rates. However, the market staged a bit of a recovery when an Indiana-based institutional investor entered the market and closed a big deal.
Carmel, Indiana-based BAM Capital Group, a shop that raises capital for specific multifamily investments from accredited investors, made a $79 million off-market deal to acquire a garden-apartment complex at 430 Ascent Drive in Wexford, an affluent Pittsburgh suburb.
The transaction, made through BAM Multifamily Growth & Income Fund IV, marked BAM's first acquisition in Pittsburgh and signaled a broader market shift with institutional capital recognizing the area's investment potential.
The 319-unit multifamily property was sold by a pair of joint venture partners, Buligo Capital Partners and Graycliff Capital Partners, for $247,649 per unit. The three-story garden-style apartment complex was built in 2015 and has a unit mix of one-, two-, and three-bedroom units.
BAM acquired the property as a value-add opportunity and plans to increase rental rates and reduce operating expenses by implementing its own property management company rather than a third party.
For reinvigorating Pittsbugh's moribund multifamily sales market and demonstrating the appeal of the market's properties to out-of-state investors, the Ascent 430 deal was selected by a panel of local industry professionals as the winner of the 2025 CoStar Impact Awards sale/acquisition of the year for Northern New Jersey.
Colliers, the buyer's broker, succeeded where others had failed. Despite previous attempts to sell the property, Colliers engaged with the apartment owners to address buyer concerns such as defeasance costs, ownership structure and exit price expectations. The team also satisfied BAM's preferences for properties, including purchasing real estate in areas with top-tier school districts. Colliers used its proprietary investment tools to analyze the Pittsburgh region's demographics and rental growth trends, pinpointing Ascent 430 as an acquisition candidate meeting BAM's profile.
About the deal: BAM apparently liked what it saw in Pittsburgh. It subsequently partnered with multifamily developer Milhaus to develop Nox, a new apartment complex in suburban Pittsburgh’s Robinson Township. The new development will have a mix of four-story elevator-served and three-story walkup buildings, housing a total of 272 units.
But it all started with the initial Ascent 430 deal, which showcased Colliers' ability to attract new capital and source and structure a complex off-market transaction.
What the judges said: Ascent 430's hefty sale price "raises the profile of the region for other out-of-town investors/owners," said Michael Heinricher, director of asset management, RIDC of Southwestern Pennsylvania. The pricing also helps validate the market as an attractive for site or new housing development, according to Heinricher.
They made it happen: The Colliers team of investment specialists that arranged the sale on behalf of the buyer included Bryan McCann, senior vice president; Willis Croker, vice president; and Matt Reder, associate, Colliers. A team of Northmarq brokers served as the listing broker, including Regional Managing Director Christopher J. Doerr, Senior Vice President William Harvey, Associate Brokers Shack Stanwick and Matthew Straughan, along with the firm's Senior Vice President Ari Azarbarzin and Associate Brokers Anthony Pino and Jack Brocato.
CoStar Market Manager Akeem Holmes contributed to this report.