MIDWEST
Intercontinental Enters Minnesota Market
Bloomington, Minn.—Boston-based Intercontinental Real Estate Corp. has purchased the International Village Apartments, a 353-unit community, for $30 million, or $85,269 per unit. The purchase marks Intercontinental's entrance into the Minneapolis-St. Paul market.
Built in 1968, International Village Apartments is about four miles from the Mall of America. The property was 98 percent occupied when sold, with a cap rate of 6.2 percent.
The seller was Laramar Group, which purchased the property in January 2007. Intercontinental hired Laramar to manage and serve as leasing agent for the complex. CB Richard Ellis represented Laramar in the deal.
James Acquires Running Springs for $4.6 million
Anderson, Ind.—The James Multifamily Group acquired the 214-unit Running Springs Apartments here in August.
The Walnut Creek, Calif.-based company acquired the property, located about 40 miles northeast of Indianapolis, for a little more than $4.6 million, or $21,612 per unit.
The property consists of 17 twostory buildings set among 17 acres, and it was 83 percent occupied when sold. Units range in size from 680 square feet for the smallest onebedroom unit to 1,310 square feet for a three-bedroom townhouse. The property was constructed in 1973.
The deal was brokered by Apartment Realty Advisors, which represented an undisclosed seller.
NORTHEAST
Students Move into Lux Condos
New York City—Universities recently bought two condominium buildings here. This fall, 900 New York University (NYU) students moved into Gramercy Green, a 21-story high-rise in Manhattan's Midtown area. Developer J.D. Carlisle had just finished the highrise, which has been marketed over the last two years, mainly to condominium buyers in Ireland. According to Irish newspaper reports, including the Irish Voice and the Irish Times, the developer had pre-sold roughly half of the 292 condominium apartments. But NYU offered a price the developer could not refuse. NYU paid $275 million for the building, or nearly $1 million per unit and $306,000 per bed.
This summer, Columbia University also paid $67.6 million, or approximately $500,000 per unit, for The Arbor, a new condo complex in the Riverdale neighborhood of the Bronx. Developers L&M Equity Participants and Hudson Arlington Associates built the 127-unit project, but only about a dozen condos went under contract with prices starting at $400,000.
AIMCO Sells 2,877-unit Complex
Greenbelt, Md.— AIMCO sold the largest apartment community in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area. The Denver-based real estate investment trust received $275 million from Montvale, N.J.-based buyer Empire American Holdings for the 2,877 apartments at Springhill Lake. That price works out to $96,000 per apartment. The sale was arranged by Transwestern.
Empire plans to reposition the property under its new name, Empirian Village. As of early September, rents started at $789 per month for a one-bedroom apartment. Empire is aggressively seeking to purchase garden apartment communities or portfolios totaling more than 300 apartments that were built within the last 10 years, according to statements on the company's Web site.
SOUTH CENTRAL
California-based Raleigh Sells to Sendera
San Antonio—Austin, Texas-based Sendera Investment Group has purchased the Rosemont Apartments, a 144-unit Class A garden-style apartment community located here.
The community, which was developed in 1996, was 100 percent occupied at the time of the sale, with a waiting list. It features one-, two-, and three-bedroom units. Amenities include a pool, clubhouse, covered parking, and controlled access gates.
Sendera actively pursues properties throughout Texas, with a strategy to upgrade the property and increase rents. The seller was an affiliate of Santa Monica, Calif.-based Raleigh Enterprises, and the deal was brokered by Apartment Realty Advisors.
SOUTHEAST
HFF Arranges Deal for Georgia Property
Norcross, Ga.—San Francisco-based Fowler Property Acquisitions purchased a 420-unit multifamily community here for $31.75 million. The Atlanta and Houston offices of Holliday Fenoglio Fowler arranged the transaction, with the Houston office brokering a $28.7 million fixed-rate loan through Freddie Mac.
Conifer Crossing, located 17 miles northeast of Atlanta's central business district, is located less than two miles from Technology Park, a 10 million-square-foot office park.
Situated on 54 acres, the property is 98 percent occupied and includes one-, two-, and three-bedroom units averaging 1,233 square feet in size. Community amenities include a clubhouse, a pool, a fitness center, a playground, and a laundry facility, as well as volleyball, racquetball, and tennis courts.
Sterling American Buys Tampa Luxury Community
Tampa, Fla.—Sterling American Property Inc., a New York City-based real estate investor, recently acquired the St. Croix Apartments, a 540-unit luxury multifamily community here, for $38.35 million. Located near major employment centers, retail shopping strips, and the University of South Florida, the property is convenient to downtown Tampa.
“We are cementing this property's position as the ideal live/play environment for the 20- to 30-year-old age demographic that populates this area,” said Jeff Smith, senior vice president of acquisitions for Sterling.
The purchase marks Sterling's first residential acquisition through its SAP V Fund, a $610 million fund that's more than 60 percent invested. The seller was New Yorkbased Sentinel Real Estate Corp.
WEST
Bascom Group Acquires Colorado Class A Property
Northglenn, Colo.—The Bascom Group, LLC, has acquired Gleneagles Apartments, a 562-unit Class A property here for $60.8 million, or $108,815 per unit. Bascom purchased the property from Principal Life Insurance Co. Apartment Realty Advisors represented both parties in the transaction.
Gleneagles occupies 24.2 acres and was built in two phases during 1999 and 2002; 64 percent of the units are two- and three-bedroom. Common-area amenities include two swimming pools, a spa, two fitness centers, two clubhouses, two business centers, and a putting green.
