Hunt and Urban West Partner to Develop Multifamily Housing

EL PASO, Texas, Feb. 29, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Hunt Companies, Inc. has formed a strategic partnership with Urban West, a multifamily development and investment company based in Carlsbad, CA.  The announcement was made today by Ryan Luxon, Executive Vice President at Hunt and John Ed Easley, President and CEO of Urban West, LLC.

Urban West and Hunt will seek development opportunities in select markets where fundamentals allow for the development of state-of-the-art institutional quality multifamily communities.  The partnership will focus on cities and submarkets in the western United States, primarily in Washington, California and Arizona.

"Ideal projects for us are those that are multifamily focused with mixed-use components including some office and retail," said Easley.  "This partnership is an ideal fit as Hunt's experience as a multifamily developer, general contractor, investor and manager is synergistic with Urban West's entrepreneurial capabilities."

"Ed and his team are a good compliment to our existing operating and investment platforms, and we appreciate Randal Howard and the Moran & Company team for the introduction and their expertise in bringing us together," added Luxon.

In addition to the development of new multifamily properties, Urban West and Hunt seek to acquire high-yielding existing, Class A and B properties built within the past 20 years and reposition those properties through unit and common area improvements.

ABOUT HUNT
Hunt, headquartered in El Paso, Texas with regional offices across the U.S., is a leading national real estate company dedicated to building values through development, investment, and management.  Hunt is focused in the core areas of public private partnership, military housing, community development, real asset investment management and multifamily housing.

Founded in 1947, Hunt is firmly rooted in a legacy of leadership, integrity, and trust. Together, Hunt and its affiliates have more than $10 billion in assets under management, including 114,000 multi-family housing units and 7.6 million square feet of office, retail and industrial properties. Hunt has also developed 89,000 housing units and thousands of acres of land, comprising more than 400 development projects completed in 32 states. Development project costs have totaled more than $6.3 billion with more than $8.1 billion in construction costs.

Visit www.huntcompanies.com to learn more about Hunt, its heritage and commitment to values that build.

ABOUT URBAN WEST
Urban West, LLC is a multifamily development and investment company based in Carlsbad, CA.   Ed Easley, the President and CEO of Urban West, has more than 40 years of experience in the multifamily sector, having been involved in the acquisition and development of over 8,000 units, primarily focused in Arizona, California, Canada and Washington.  Urban West provides its institutional and private equity partners fully integrated service capabilities focused on achieving attractive rates of return on a risk adjusted basis, while maintaining the flexibility to respond to ever changing market conditions.  Visit www.urbanwestllc.com to learn more.

Contact:
Brenda Christman, Hunt Companies, Inc.
(915) 222-1669

SOURCE Hunt Companies, Inc.