The 72-unit Flats at Merrill Pond apartment complex in Worcester is under new ownership, following its sale for $14 million to a prominent landlord in Central Massachusetts. The complex, owned by an entity managed by FPA Multifamily, sold the site at 328 Greenwood St. to an entity managed by Bechara Fren in a transaction finalized […]
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The 72-unit Flats at Merrill Pond apartment complex in Worcester is under new ownership, following its sale for $14 million to a prominent landlord in Central Massachusetts.
The complex, owned by an entity managed by FPA Multifamily, sold the site at 328 Greenwood St. to an entity managed by Bechara Fren in a transaction finalized on Thursday, according to Worcester District Registry of Deeds records.
Fren owns multifamily properties across Central Massachusetts, including a 120-unit apartment complex in Leominster and a four-building apartment complex in Grafton, according to municipal property records.
Fren owned the 32-unit apartment building at 267 Mill St., the site of a 2022 roof collapse. The collapse sparked a legal battle between tenants and Fren, who then went on to sell the since-renovated complex for $8.64 million in September.
The sale of the four-building Flats at Merrill Pond equals about $194,444 per unit. The apartments were built in 1965, with on-site amenities which include laundry and outdoor grilling areas. Containing 48 one-bedroom units and 24 two-bedroom units, the average rent under FPA’s ownership was $1,926, according to real estate data provider CoStar.
The site was purchased from an entity managed by FPA Multifamily, a large real estate investment firm based in California. FPA bought the site for $10.15 million in 2022.
FPA has a portfolio of more than 60,000 apartment units, including the 562-unit complex Arrive Westborough, formerly known as the Fountainhead Apartments, which it purchased for $130 million in 2019.
FPA and its affiliate Trinity Property Consultants have faced legal scrutiny since 2023, including a $1.25-million settlement with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts over the unlawful billing of tenants for water and sewer charges and unlawfully withholding security deposits, according to a website set up for the settlement fund.
The firm reached a 2024 settlement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission over its custody practices and failure to implement policies and procedures regarding the use of affiliated service providers, according to the SEC’s website.
FPA faced a wrongful death suit after a fire killed one resident and injured 20 others in a property it owns in Maryland, with the victim’s family claiming there were no smoke detectors in the apartment, according to WUSA9 News. Parties in that lawsuit reached an undisclosed settlement agreement, according to federal court records.
FPA didn’t respond to an email requesting more details on the transaction, its SEC settlement, and the 2023 fire in Maryland.
The 2.62-acre site at 328 Greenwood St. received a 2025 tax assessment value of $10.53 million, according to City of Worcester property records.
Eric Casey is the managing editor at Worcester Business Journal, who primarily covers the manufacturing and real estate industries.
