Myrtle Beach-area multifamily community trades to ANiMAL Group

• JLL Capital Markets arranged the sale of The Lorrel, a 270-unit, garden-style multifamily community in Little River, South Carolina

• ANiMAL Group acquired the asset from Wakefield Residential

• The Myrtle Beach MSA has grown 13.6% since 2020, with limited new supply positioning The Lorrel for continued rental growth

RALEIGH, N.C., Sept. 28, 2026 – JLL Capital Markets announced today that it has completed the sale of The Lorrel, a 270-unit, garden-style multifamily community in Little River, South Carolina.

JLL represented the seller, Wakefield Residential, in the sale of the asset to ANiMAL Group.

Completed in 2023, The Lorrel features one-, two- and three-bedroom units with an average unit size of 879 square feet. Unit interiors showcase market-leading finishes, including designer kitchen backsplashes, stainless steel appliance packages, granite countertops, open-concept gourmet kitchens, wood-inspired flooring throughout, custom cabinetry and lighting packages, full-size washers and dryers, private patios or balconies in select units and oversized closets.

The 96%-leased community features best-in-class amenities, including a resort-style pool with in-water tanning ledge, a pickleball court, an expansive 24-hour fitness center with yoga-on-demand studio, outdoor fire pit with fireside seating, al fresco dining pavilion, spacious leash-free dog park, on-site pet spa, business center with private conference rooms, game lawn, interactive courtyards and guest suites available for residents' guests.

The Lorrel is strategically located at 3465 Sandler Blvd. in Little River, an amenity-rich coastal community that benefits from proximity to Myrtle Beach's $26 billion tourism economy while offering residents the charm and affordability of a less congested location. Little River provides convenient access to Myrtle Beach's major employers, world-renowned golf courses, the Intracoastal Waterway and beaches, creating an attractive coastal lifestyle at a more accessible price point than neighboring beach communities.

"The Lorrel represented a rare opportunity to acquire a virtually new, institutional-quality asset in one of the Southeast's fastest-growing markets," said JLL Managing Director John Mikels, who led the sale on behalf of the seller. "Little River has emerged as an extremely attractive residential destination, offering the coastal lifestyle appeal of Myrtle Beach while maintaining a more tranquil, affordable environment. The property's 2023 construction, premium amenity package and best-in-class unit finishes position it exceptionally well to capture continued rental growth as the market matures."

"The demographic fundamentals surrounding The Lorrel are outstanding," added Mikels. "With average household incomes exceeding $100,000 within a three-mile radius and the Myrtle Beach MSA growing nearly 14% since 2020, demand for quality rental housing continues to significantly outpace supply. The limited development pipeline, with just one asset under construction within 16 miles, creates a compelling supply-constrained environment that will support strong rental rate growth for years to come."

The Myrtle Beach MSA has experienced unprecedented population growth, expanding from 351,029 in 2020 to over 441,000 in 2025, a 13.6% increase in just four years. The region is projected to reach nearly 471,000 residents by 2030. This rapid growth, combined with the area's position as the #1 fastest-growing mid-sized metro area according to the United States Census (2020) and its status as the #4 best place to retire in South Carolina according to Niche (2024), has created sustained demand for high-quality rental housing.

“We are very pleased with the acquisition of The Lorrel. Wakefield delivered an exceptional asset, its location is impossible to replicate - directly adjacent to the recently complete North Myrtle Beach Park & Sports Complex and at the center of Champions Crossing, a large-scale master-planned commercial and retail development,” said Max Cookes, Co-Founder of ANiMAL.

“The Lorrel is a strong fit for the ANiMAL Living investment mandate, focused on acquiring institutional-grade, stabilized assets with durable cash flow in markets with strong long-term demand fundamentals,” added Cookes. “Myrtle Beach continues to benefit from strong population growth and household formation trends, combined with above-average income growth, which underpins sustained rental demand and supports continued rent appreciation.”

Cookes added that ANiMAL Living is actively acquiring assets across its target core target markets; Atlanta, Charlotte, Nashville and Austin.

JLL Capital Markets is a full-service global provider of capital solutions for real estate investors and occupiers. The group’s in-depth local market and global investor knowledge delivers the best-in-class solutions for clients, including investment sales and advisory, debt advisory, M&A and corporate finance, loan sales, equity & fund placement, net lease, derivative advisory and energy & infrastructure advisory. JLL Capital Markets has more than 3,000 specialists worldwide with offices in nearly 50 countries.

For more news, videos and research resources, please visit JLL’s newsroom. 

JLL (NYSE:JLL) is a leading global commercial real estate services and investment management company with annual revenue of $26.1 billion, operations in over 80 countries and a global workforce of more than 112,000 as of June 30, 2026. For over 200 years, clients have trusted JLL, a Fortune 500^® company, to help them confidently buy, build, occupy, manage and invest across a variety of industries and property types, including office, industrial, hotel, multi-family, retail and data center properties. Driven by our purpose to shape the future of real estate for a better world, we help our clients, people and communities SEE A BRIGHTER WAY. Powered by rich global datasets and leading technology capabilities, we provide coordinated, end-to-end delivery of real estate services for a broad range of global clients who represent a wide variety of industries. Through LaSalle Investment Management, we invest for clients on a global basis in both private assets and publicly traded real estate securities. For further information, visit jll.com.

Headquartered in Virginia Beach, Virginia, Wakefield Residential is a build-to-rent and multifamily development company. Formed in 2021 as an affiliate of L.M. Sandler & Sons, Inc. and a sister company to Wakefield Development and Chesapeake Homes, Wakefield Residential draws on the Sandler organization's more than 30 years of land development and homebuilding experience to deliver multifamily apartment communities and single-family rental neighborhoods from Virginia to Florida.

Headquartered in Atlanta, ANiMAL is an opportunistic real estate investment firm focused on identifying undervalued, high-quality assets in high-growth markets across the Southeast. ANiMAL operates two complementary investment strategies: ANiMAL Living, which acquires recently constructed, stabilized Class A multifamily communities, and ANiMAL Opportunistic, which targets mispriced land, covered-land, value-add and income-producing assets. With more than 75 years of collective experience, ANiMAL’s team has built a cycle-tested track record across the full arc of investment and development. Its principals have been investing in U.S. real estate for more than 14 years, with experience spanning acquisitions, development, asset management, capital markets and complex transaction execution. The current portfolio is consists of 665 multifamily units, 35 townhomes, 3,963 parking bays, and a future development pipeline of 5,875 multifamily units and 650 hotel keys.