New York City-based software provider Alfred and its property management firm, Charlotte-based RKW Residential, are merging with Quarterra Living, the apartment operational arm of Irving, Texas-based developer Quarterra Multifamily, according to a Thursday press release shared with Multifamily Dive.
Quarterra is providing roughly 30,000 units to the venture. The new combined platform will operate approximately 52,000 residences, representing over $20 billion of assets, which would have placed it at No. 35 on the most recent National Multifamily Housing Council’s Top 50 managers list.
“We're really combining the three companies into one,” Jessica Beck, CEO and co-founder of Alfred, who will lead the combined entity, told Multifamily Dive. “Alfred is contributing technology and the service-hospitality mindset. RKW is contributing its boutique, service-oriented feel. Quarterra is contributing its national scale and operational excellence.”
Quarterra’s property management leadership team will continue in their roles, and Brad Greiwe, CEO of the company, will join Alfred's board of directors.
Future changes
The newly merged firm plans to introduce an updated name and platform advancements. “In the next year, you'll see the refreshed brand, and we will release new tech capabilities,” Beck said. “We'll continue to refine the operating model.”
The firm’s technology platform, which unifies resident experience and property operations into a single system, will be rolled out across the entire portfolio.
“We really genuinely believe there is an opportunity to build a different, better management platform, and the combination of the three capabilities under one platform creates that,” Beck said.
The newly merged company will maintain operations in all current markets while actively exploring strategic expansion opportunities.
“We have a very strong position in the Sun Belt,” Beck said. “The platform is national. We're in 22 states, coast to coast, and that allows us to support our clients in any market that they want to go into.”
Past moves
Before Quarterra — a subsidiary of Miami-based home builder Lennar — merged its management business with Alfred and RKW, it had been scaling down its portfolio of owned properties. On Lennar Corp’s December 2023 earnings call, Executive Chairman and co-CEO Stuart Miller said the firm was exploring the sale of its roughly 11,000-unit apartment portfolio.
In a deal that closed last June, New York City-based global investment firm KKR purchased 5,200 units from Quarterra for about $2.1 billion. In September, it sold another 1,400 apartments to QuadReal Property Group, a Vancouver, British Columbia-based global real estate investment, operating and development company.
As Quarterra has been scaling back, Alfred has been building. In March 2022, Alfred raised $50 million in private equity funding and purchased RKW Residential. At the time, the firm had a war chest of $75 million for future acquisitions.
Now with Quarterra Living, Beck thinks the newly merged company can help modernize the fragmented property management industry.
“We are going to continue to grow, but we're going to do it thoughtfully, and we're looking for operators who want to be partners with us and create that new management platform,” Beck said.
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