Manhattan Beach-based Magma Equities and Ohio-based Viking Partners have acquired a 359-unit multifamily community in North Carolina for $42.4 million. Magma Equities has been growing its presence in the area over the past few years.

The property is known as the University Apartments and is located in the Duke submarket of Durham, N.C., at 1500 Duke University Road.

University Apartments has 20 two- and three-story buildings and sits on 12 acres. The units are studio, one- and two-bedroom apartments.

Its amenities include two fitness centers, two swimming pools with sundecks, and an outdoor fireplace.

Magma Equities plans to upgrade the community areas and interiors. The company focuses on repositioning Class A and Class B apartments in the United States.
It’s Magma Equities’ fifth acquisition in the market this year and its 12th in the area since entering the market in 2019.

The company now has more than 3,600 apartment units in the area.
“We’ve cultivated strong relationships with brokers and property owners in the market, which has enhanced our ability to rapidly expand our footprint in the market over the last two years,” Magma Equities Managing Principal Ryan Hall said in a statement.
Scott Ogilvie, acquisitions manager at Magma Equities, added that the area was becoming a desirable place to invest.

“Over the past two decades, Raleigh/Durham has evolved into a thriving hub for businesses up and down the East Coast, becoming one of the country’s top regions for technology, research and development,” he said in a statement. “The infusion of new businesses into the area has created a growing need for quality housing which is why we continue to seek out and acquire assets in this market.”