July 22, 2026

The Landings: A cross-portfolio capital solution for Boyd Wilson

One Northmarq Case Study

Overview

When Boyd Wilson LLC set out to expand its footprint in Pennsylvania's Lehigh Valley, the firm needed more than a straightforward acquisition loan. It needed a partner capable of thinking across its entire portfolio to unlock capital, preserve favorable financing and close a competitive deal in a cautious market.

Northmarq delivered exactly that. Working in close coordination across its Debt, Equity and Fund Management teams, Northmarq structured a highly customized capital stack that supported Boyd Wilson's $97 million acquisition of The Landings, a 384-unit apartment community in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, while simultaneously recapitalizing two additional assets in the borrower's existing portfolio.

The result marked two firsts for Northmarq:

The initial transaction combined internally originated Freddie Mac Agency debt with preferred equity from the firm's Fund Management platform in a single, integrated execution.
The recapitalization of two existing assets marked the first time Northmarq Fund Management’s platform provided preferred equity behind an existing Northmarq-originated Fannie Mae loan.

Client: Boyd Wilson LLC, a privately held multifamily firm founded in 1982 and headquartered in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. For more than four decades, Boyd Wilson has managed its own properties alongside third-party assets throughout central Pennsylvania, building a reputation for transparency, responsive service and community collaboration.

Property: The Landings, a 384-unit affordable apartment community located at 1818 Catasauqua Road in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Positioned approximately 66 miles north of Philadelphia, the property offers residents access to the Lehigh Valley's key employment hubs.

The challenge

Boyd Wilson identified The Landings as a strategic opportunity to strengthen its growing Bethlehem portfolio — and a departure from its typical approach. The firm primarily grows its multifamily holdings through ground-up development, but rising construction costs made acquiring an existing asset increasingly compelling. The Landings offered a per-unit price below replacement cost, along with clear value-add potential, making it an attractive alternative to building new.

The property came to market through JLL, drawing competitive interest along with significant seller pressure. Their aggressive closing timeline left little room for error, placing immediate demands on the capital formation process. Financing an acquisition of this scale, under compressed conditions, required precise structuring to bridge the gap between the purchase price and available senior debt.

The Lehigh Valley market provided a compelling backdrop for the acquisition. Eli Lilly's announcement of a new $3.5 billion pharmaceutical manufacturing facility in Lehigh County — the largest life sciences investment in Pennsylvania's history — signaled strong near-term demand for quality housing across the region. Boyd Wilson understood the market well. The firm already owned Bethlehem Fields, a comparable asset approximately 20 minutes from The Landings, and managed three additional properties in the area. That local knowledge informed a critical finding: rents at The Landings were running below market, representing a meaningful value-add opportunity for an experienced operator already embedded in the submarket.

Compounding the challenge, the broader capital markets environment required a significant strategic pivot. The original mandate called for common equity to complete the capital stack, but that approach proved unsuccessful. Investor appetite for joint venture equity had tightened considerably, and Northmarq was unable to secure the required common equity commitment under prevailing market conditions. Rather than abandon the transaction, the team reframed the strategy entirely — pivoting to preferred equity as the mechanism to unlock value from Boyd Wilson's existing portfolio and bridge the gap to close.

Boyd Wilson also held meaningful value within its existing portfolio. Two vintage assets – Rosedale Apartments in Hershey, Pennsylvania and Pioneer Woods Apartments in Lancaster, Pennsylvania – each carried existing Fannie Mae financing. Refinancing those loans to access equity would have introduced complications, including potential prepayment obligations and the loss of favorable long-term Agency terms.

Preferred equity emerged as the clear solution for several reasons. Rosedale and Pioneer Woods had both been financed by Northmarq the prior year, making a new loan — and the prepayment it would trigger — an impractical path forward. At the same time, both assets had performed well and appreciated in value since closing, leaving meaningful equity trapped within the portfolio. That combination of strong asset performance and constrained refinancing options made them ideal candidates for recapitalization. A joint venture structure had already proven unworkable, as common equity had been actively pursued and the market had not responded. Mezzanine debt, meanwhile, was not a viable fit behind existing Fannie Mae financing, particularly post-closing. Preferred equity offered a way to unlock value from assets Boyd Wilson already owned, without disturbing the low-cost Agency debt in place or requiring a new equity partner to take an ownership stake in the business.

The firm needed a way to fund a new acquisition and free up trapped equity in existing assets, all without disturbing the low-cost Agency debt already in place.

The solution

Northmarq engineered a dual-pronged capital structure that addressed both sides of the equation.

To facilitate the acquisition of The Landings, Northmarq arranged:

A $67.9 million Freddie Mac senior loan, secured through Northmarq's deep Agency relationships to provide long-term stability for the newly acquired asset.
$13.5 million in preferred equity from Northmarq Fund Management, delivered in tandem with the senior loan to bridge the capital gap.

At the same time, Northmarq recapitalized Boyd Wilson's two existing assets. The Debt + Equity team placed an additional $9.5 million of preferred equity across Rosedale and Pioneer Woods, unlocking liquidity while preserving each property's existing Fannie Mae financing.

In total, Northmarq Fund Management deployed $23 million of preferred equity across the three-property structure. This coordinated approach marked the first time Northmarq combined internally originated Agency debt with preferred equity from its Fund Management platform in a single, integrated execution.

The transaction was led by John Banas, Kris Wood, Joel Heikenfeld and Charlie Rimkus, in collaboration with Peter Sherman of Northmarq Fund Management.

“This transaction highlights the power of creative structuring and true partnership in today's capital markets environment,” said Banas. “By recapitalizing existing assets while simultaneously capitalizing a new acquisition, we were able to solve both sides of the equation, unlocking liquidity and enabling growth.”

Heikenfeld added, “This is a great example of how we can think beyond a single asset. By leveraging our fund platform alongside our Agency expertise, we delivered a flexible solution tailored to Boyd Wilson's broader portfolio strategy.”

The outcome

The integrated structure achieved Boyd Wilson's objectives on every front. By pairing new acquisition financing with cross-portfolio recapitalization, Northmarq unlocked liquidity within the firm's existing holdings, preserved valuable long-term Agency financing and bridged the capital gap that stood between Boyd Wilson and its expansion goals.

For Boyd Wilson, the value of the partnership with Northmarq extended well beyond the numbers.

“This transaction would not have taken place without Northmarq's broad spectrum of abilities, spirit of partnership and plain old ‘get the job done’ ethic,” said Norris Boyd, principal at Boyd Wilson. “In a market that's being very careful, Northmarq's willingness to go the extra mile produced an economically sound package of financing and equity for this affordable housing community. We look forward to our future Northmarq relationship with excitement and optimism.”

The Landings demonstrates what becomes possible when a capital partner thinks beyond a single asset. By uniting Agency debt expertise with the flexibility of a proprietary fund platform, Northmarq delivered a solution tailored not just to one deal, but to a client's entire portfolio strategy.