01
Private REIT, UPREIT Structure
A non-traded private REIT today, structured as an UPREIT so owners can contribute property on a tax-efficient basis.
Enduring value inmultifamily real estate.
Renaissance Realty Trust is a private REIT acquiring well-located apartment communities and converting underused office buildings into homes, beginning in Greater Washington, D.C., and building toward a national portfolio.
The Firm
Renaissance Realty Trust is a private real estate investment trust founded by veteran REIT executives to acquire well-located apartment communities and give underused office buildings new life as homes.
02
Multifamily & Conversions
Two complementary strategies: acquiring vintage apartment communities and converting underused office buildings to residential.
03
D.C. Region → National
Beginning in Greater Washington, D.C. (where our team has operated for decades), with a path toward a national portfolio.
Leadership
Decades of REIT leadership.
"We make a good team because of our networks with Washington's longtime real estate families: Jonathan knows one generation, and I know the one directly below it." Bobby Wilson, Co-Founder & President
Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer
Jonathan Morris
Jonathan Morris has spent more than three decades as a senior executive across the REIT industry. He served as Director of Acquisitions at Boston Properties (BXP) and as Senior Vice President and Chief Investment Officer at Charles E. Smith Residential, one of the earliest conversions of the modern REIT era, later merged into Archstone-Smith.
He co-founded LMH Realty Group, a private-equity affiliate of Lerner Enterprises, led capital markets as a Managing Director at JLL, and served as Chief Investment Officer of Armada Hoffler Properties (NYSE: AHH). A longtime adjunct professor of REITs at Georgetown University and the founder of REIT Academy, he is a nationally recognized authority on the UPREIT structure.
Co-Founder & President
Bobby Wilson
Bobby Wilson is a Washington, D.C.–based acquisitions and capital-markets professional. He spent nearly eight years leading acquisitions at Moore & Associates, following capital-markets roles at Cushman & Wakefield, where he structured debt and equity for commercial real estate transactions across the D.C. region on behalf of institutional and private investors.
He earned his master's in real estate finance from Georgetown University, where he first studied under Jonathan Morris, and has built deep relationships with the region's longtime property-owning families.
Investment Strategy
Two ways we create value.
Strategy One
Multifamily Acquisitions
We acquire well-located, vintage apartment communities with durable occupancy and long-term private ownership.
- Well-located, vintage apartment buildings
- Typically 97–98% leased
- Long held by individual owners
- Tax basis depreciated toward zero
- Acquired tax-efficiently via UPREIT
Strategy Two
Office-to-Residential Conversions
We target well-located, largely vacant office buildings available at an attractive basis and reposition them as residential.
- Underused, well-located office assets
- Attractive acquisition basis
- Strong, durable residential demand
- Adaptive reuse: new life for buildings
- The idea behind our name: renewal
The UPREIT Advantage
A better path for long-term owners.
Many of the finest apartment buildings are owned by individuals who have held them for decades. Their tax basis has depreciated toward zero, so a cash sale triggers a substantial tax bill. The UPREIT structure offers a better path.
Contribute
Owners contribute appreciated property into our operating partnership instead of selling it for cash.
Receive OP Units
In exchange they receive operating-partnership (OP) units rather than a taxable cash payment.
Defer & Diversify
Capital-gains tax is deferred, and a single concentrated asset becomes a stake in a diversified, professionally managed portfolio.
Renaissance's founders bring decades of UPREIT experience, including landmark acquisitions executed using this very structure across some of the country's most recognized real estate portfolios.
Where We Invest
Rooted in Washington. Built for the nation.
Today: Greater Washington, D.C.
- Washington, D.C.
- Northern Virginia
- Suburban Maryland
Exploring: Nationally
- Boston
- Florida
- Texas
As the portfolio scales, Renaissance is evaluating acquisitions in select markets across the country.
The Path Ahead
From private REIT to public.
Renaissance Realty Trust launches as a non-traded private REIT. As the portfolio grows, we intend to pursue a public listing through a regulatory offering: building, deal by deal, toward a public REIT.
Contact
Let's start a conversation.
Whether you own a well-located building and want to explore a tax-efficient transaction, or you'd like to learn more about Renaissance Realty Trust, we'd welcome the conversation.