RPM Living Investments (“RPM”) has announced the acquisition of San Paloma in the heart of Houston’s Energy Corridor, the city’s third-largest employment center. The 372-unit garden property was purchased from Blackstone/Livcor through a joint venture with DRA Advisors (“DRA”). The transaction is the second joint venture between DRA and RPM in Texas and is RPM’s 16th acquisition in greater Houston. 

San Paloma presents an incredible opportunity with the community’s superb Energy Corridor location, forecasted to maintain its position as one of Houston’s strongest submarkets. The community is surrounded by 22MM square feet of office space, high-end infrastructure, and benefits from its location in the path of Houston’s western-leaning growth and a limited multifamily construction pipeline. 

Built by Sueba in 2006, one of Houston’s highest quality builders, San Paloma features an unmatched amenity set, and unique floorplans with an average unit size of over 1,050 square feet that include arched doorways, vaulted ceilings, and built-ins throughout.  

“San Paloma is an excellent property that provides tremendous opportunity in one of Houston’s premier locations. We are excited to add such a great asset to our portfolio and to capitalize on its maximum potential,” says Hank Farrell, Chief Executive Officer of RPM Living Investments.  

"San Paloma is the perfect addition to grow our successful partnership with RPM. It is a high-quality asset in an A+ location with strong demand in a supply-constrained submarket, and we are excited to execute our business plan alongside the RPM team,” says Brett Gottlieb, Managing Director of DRA Advisors.  

The acquisition was financed by Amerant Bank. For more information on RPM Living Investments, visit rpmlivinginvestments.com. 

Project Highlights 

Owner: RPM Living Investments
Manager: RPM Living
Developer/Builder: Sueba
Location: Houston, TX
Opened: 2006
Number of units: 372
Unit mix: One-, Two-Bedrooms 

RPM Living Investments announces the acquisition of Brentwood Downs, a 408-unit garden-style community in Lilburn, Georgia, a suburb of Atlanta experiencing high demand amongst apartment dwellers. The acquisition marks the sixth asset purchased by the RPM Multifamily Fund I that launched last year.  

Situated northeast of Atlanta’s central business district, Brentwood Downs has experienced immense organic rental growth with rates increasing more than 18% over the last year. Located at 500 Pleasant Hill Rd NW, the community boasts spacious units at an average of 1,070 square feet, an attractive feature for those escaping the city and seeking more space.  

Brentwood Downs’ rent rate increase is reflective of Atlanta’s overall demand for suburban housing. Gwinnett County, where Brentwood Downs is located, seems to be experiencing it the most with an over 8% YOY growth in employment. The demand is due to rising rents inside the Atlanta loop, which is partly caused by a surge in population growth and supply shortage. This coupled with the rise in remote work has further increased demand for rental housing in the suburbs, where residents are able to choose space over office proximity.  

“The suburbs of Atlanta continue to see growth as residents leave the city center for more space. The strategic acquisition of Brentwood Down builds on our plans to further expand our national presence in growing markets,” says Josh Kahn, Chief Operating Officer, RPM Living Investments.  

RPM sourced Brentwood Downs through a direct, off-market relationship with the seller who has owned the community since 2007. The acquisition was financed by First Horizon Banks and adds to RPM’s growing footprint in Atlanta and the Southeast region. To learn more about RPM Living Investments, visit rpmlivinginvestments.com.  

Project Highlights 

Owner: RPM Living Investments
Manager: RPM Living
Developer/Builder: Lane Company
Location: Lilburn, GA
Opened: 1997
Number of units: 408
Unit mix: One-, Two-, and Three-Bedrooms 

For the latest news and press, visit rpmliving.com/blog.

RPM Living’s Division President Cynthia Miller, and Chief Marketing Officer Alexis Vance have both been recognized among the top female commercial real estate professionals as Women of Influence by GlobeSt. for the significant impact they’ve made on the industry. Both women have been instrumental in leading effective change that has directly impacted the explosive growth and evolution of RPM Living, the No. 7 largest apartment manager on NMHC’s Top 50 list. 

As Division President, Cynthia Miller directly oversees operations of RPM Living’s West portfolio of 77,000 units and supervises the Operations team and Analytics and Compliance departments. She has played a key role in several companywide platform rollouts that elevate reporting, people, and workflow to be the best in the business. Additionally, Cynthia has significantly grown the West portfolio. Most notably, in the past year, the Dallas-Fort Worth portfolio grew by 22,100 units and the Houston portfolio by 8,100 units, and her total portfolio’s average occupancy in 2021 was above the industry average. 

As Chief Marketing Officer, Alexis Vance plays an integral role in positioning the company as a differentiator with an overall focus on brand equity and has led the company, from a marketing standpoint, through its two biggest years of growth. She has led her team through the launch of multiple key programs and processes, like an industry-leading business intelligence platform, a complete CRM platform, and in-house branding and digital services, all which directly impact performance as well as the resident and client experience.  

Cynthia and Alexis’ strong leadership can best be seen in those they lead. Their ability to pivot and be agile has paid off with retention, and their strong support and investment in people is evidenced in their team’s growth and success. In the past year, Cynthia has had the opportunity to promote 17 individuals on her team at the Regional Vice President, Vice President, and Senior Vice President level alone. Likewise, Alexis’ leadership has allowed her to attract high-caliber candidates, even in one of the most competitive job markets, and build out an industry-leading marketing team, growing it from three members to 30 in just two years. 

GlobeSt.’s Women of Influence awards recognize female commercial real estate professionals for their remarkable achievements who have personally impacted the market and significantly driven the industry to new heights via their outstanding successes. To view the full list of 2022 winners, click here. 

To learn more about RPM Living, visit RPMLiving.com. 

Amidst national record growth, RPM Living is now the seventh largest manager in the nation, landing at No. 7 on the Top 50 List of Apartment Managers by the National Multifamily Housing Council (NMHC), up four spots from No. 11 last year. This marks the third consecutive year the Austin firm has been included in the industry’s chief ranking of the nation’s largest managers and the first year they’ve ranked in the top 10. 

The ranking is an impressive feat considering RPM debuted on the annual list just two years ago in 2020 at No. 42 and was able to climb 35 spots among the industry’s ever-evolving landscape due to the global pandemic and a highly competitive job market. The quick ascent can be attributed to the firm’s exponential growth over the past few years. In 2021, RPM experienced its largest year of growth, adding more than 47,000 units to its portfolio. Currently, RPM manages a diverse portfolio of 112,000 units across 35 markets and employs over 2,400 associates nationwide. 

“It’s an honor to be named the No. 7 company in the country and the achievement is an attestation to our team’s constant dedication and hard work,” said Jason Berkowitz, CEO and founder of RPM. “I am proud of our team's commitment to best practices, innovative solutions and resident-centric service which continues to be our focus and what propels us forward, allowing us to evolve and maintain our upwards trajectory.” 

Contributing to the recent growth is RPM’s investment and development arm which successfully closed the RPM Multifamily Fund I, its first LP real estate fund which received commitments totaling more than $100 million. In 2021, the firm acquired roughly 3,600 multifamily units totaling a gross value of over $800 million. RPM Investments now owns a portfolio with a market value of roughly $4 billion, primarily consisting of properties in the rapidly growing South and Southeast. 

Further accelerating RPM’s growth are its recent partnerships with industry powerhouses Ron Bonneau as Partner and Managing Director of Acquisitions, and Chase Hill as Partner and Managing Director of Development. The two bring extensive industry experience that will directly benefit the firm’s efforts to grow its platform nationally and further expand on development throughout the South and Southwest.  

In addition to national growth, RPM has received recognition for its outstanding culture and leadership, having been named a Best Place to Work for 2022 by GlobeSt. The list highlights organizations that achieve outstanding performance, stay on top of workforce trends, strive to accommodate staff, and offer transparent communication methods and thoughtful employee engagement programming. The accolade compliments other recent awards including RPM’s Chief Executive Officer Jason Berkowitz and its Transition & Due Diligence Team both being named Multifamily Influencers by GlobeSt. in 2021.  

The NMHC Top 50 is the industry’s chief ranking of the nation’s 50 largest apartment developers, 50 largest apartment owners, 50 largest apartment managers, 25 largest builders and 10 largest syndicators. 

For more information about RPM and its national portfolio, visit RPMLiving.com. 

RPM Living announces the appointment of Kasi Moeskau as Chief Legal Officer for RPM Living, its subsidiaries, and affiliates. Moeskau has served as outside counsel for both RPM Living and F&B Capital for nearly 15 years, representing the latter on over 100 transactions with an aggregate value in excess of $1.5 billion. As Chief Legal Officer, Moeskau will provide legal and strategic guidance for RPM’s nationally recognized management platform and continue assisting with its investment endeavors. 

With over 20 years’ experience practicing law, Moeskau most recently was a shareholder at esteemed Austin firm Sneed, Vine & Perry, P.C., and a member of its Legal Opinion Committee. Her experience includes the representation of a wide variety of investors and other owners and operators of commercial real estate assets in the acquisition and disposition of real property, financing transactions, and organization and negotiation of joint ventures. Moeskau also routinely advised clients in a wide range of operational and corporate compliance matters. She graduated summa cum laude from Texas Tech University with a bachelor’s in Political Science and earned her J.D. from The University of Texas School of Law. Moeskau has been a member of the State Bar of Texas since 2002.  

“Kasi has been instrumental in many of our past transactions, and we are thrilled to strengthen our team by welcoming her to the RPM family. With two decades of experience, Kasi brings the expertise and knowledge needed as RPM accelerates its growth nationwide and executes its long-term objectives.” says Jason Berkowitz, CEO and Founder of RPM Living.  

Over the past few years, RPM has achieved exponential growth despite the industry’s uncertain landscape due to the global pandemic. In 2020, the Austin-based firm debuted on the NMHC Top 50 Managers list at No. 42 before making the biggest jump of the year and soaring to No. 11. Continuing its strategic national expansion, RPM experienced its largest year of growth in 2021, adding more than 47,000 units to its portfolio. Currently, RPM manages a diverse portfolio of 112,000 units across 35 markets and employs over 2,400 associates nationwide.