For $6.3M, Privitera Snags 48 Apartments in Woburn

WOBURN — It may have a relaxing handle, but the new owner of Country Club Place Apartments is hardly lounging at the 48-unit property. Having just closed on the three-story structure that dates to 1960, multifamily investor Philip Privitera is already sinking capital into the asset that had been in the same family ownership since 1962. Aiding in the restoration program is a $4.8 million mortgage from South Shore Savings Bank.

“All in all, the property is in good shape, but a few items are in need of some TLC,” Privitera relays this week in citing laundry rooms and entryways as being in need of “a slight facelift” that will feature modern washing machines and driers, plus work on the landscaping. “I look forward to improving them and the positive reaction of the tenants,” states Privitera, whose firm beat out 10 bidders to secure the asset that consists of four conjoined brick buildings.

Privitera, who last year acquired 66 units in Malden from the Hamilton Co. for $8.75 million, says he has been on the prowl for viable investments, and was introduced to the Woburn listing by exclusive leasing agent NAI/Hunneman Commercial. Principal David N. Ross and Associate Gina Barroso handled the transaction, whereas Cornerstone Realty Consultants arranged the loan. “It’s a great time to buy,” says Privitera, citing the availability of record low-interest rates and a regional apartment market that has become among the strongest nationally on occupancy levels and rents. Savvy local players are aiming to take advantage by acquiring value-add properties that can be quickly repositioned or improved efficiently.

Interestingly, Privitera says he was familiar with Country Club Place, passing by the property nearly every day while traversing the Route 3/Cambridge Road corridor. “And I would say to myself, ‘Someday I want to own that building,’” Privitera recounts, explaining that his first job in real estate was a summer post caretaking a building that looks identical to the newly acquired property. The dream was realized, he says, thanks to the brokerage talents of the NAI Hunneman team led by Ross and Barroso. “David is the type of guy who gets things done,” Privitera says. “It is a pleasure to be a part of any deal in which he is involved.” On the financing element, Privitera lauded Cornerstone principal Paul Natalizio as “among the sharpest young finance brokers that one can find in Greater Boston” who introduced the buyer to South Shore Savings Bank lending officer Marilynn Mannino. “It has been a pleasure to work with Marilyn and South Shore Savings,” Privitera says. Ross was equally effusive of Natalizio for being able to underwrite the property and shop it to multiple prospects. That work by Natalizio and colleague Brett Pagani and the strong sponsorship of an investor who now owns more than 2,000 units regionally helped seal the successful conclusion, according to Ross.

Privitera’s Somerville-based group “is a wonderful operator, and they had the financial capacity to do this deal,” observes Ross, who further credits the stewardship of his client, the Curran family, for keeping Country Club Place well-maintained for a half-century. That combined with a development that has been virtually full over the years and is inside the white-hot Route 128 multifamily market contributed to a winning combination, says Ross. “I mean, where do you go wrong here?” he remarks rhetorically. “It’s a wonderful property.”

Privitera says he was touched by the emotional connection of the sellers to Country Club Place Apartments, and vows to continue the legacy of having “a great building with wonderful tenants” that serves as “an icon marking the entry of the town” from Winchester. “It’s exciting,” he says of taking on the property.