A Toronto-based real estate investment trust acquired two Colorado apartment communities as part of a $242.2 million U.S. multifamily portfolio.
Milestone Apartments Real Estate Investment Trust purchased the six-property 1,460-unit portfolio, which included the 276-unit Talon Hill apartments in Colorado Springs and the 168-unit Eagle Ridge apartments in Loveland.
Raia Properties Corp., according to public records, sold the properties for $56.5 million and $33.25 million, respectively.
“The portfolio acquisition reflects our ongoing strategic acquisition approach to growing the REIT’s portfolio and improving its operating margins and cash flow. This acquisition will also increase our scale as we continue to diversify our portfolio in high-growth U.S. Sunbelt markets, which benefit from strong underlying demographic trends and higher-than-national-average employment and population growth,” Robert Landin, CEO of Milestone, said in a release that first announced its entering into a definitive agreement to acquire the portfolio.
The $56.5 million acquisition of Talon Hill not only represents Milestone’s first foray into the Colorado Springs market but also only the second time a property within the market has traded above $200,000 per unit.
“It is the second-highest per unit price ever paid in Colorado Springs,” ARA Newmark’s Kevin McKenna said of the $204,710-per-unit price. “The location is phenomenal on the very north end of Colorado Springs, right in the heart of growth. It has a fantastic school district and demographics.
“Even though it is 10 years old, in my opinion, it is still one of the nicest properties in Colorado Springs,” added McKenna.
Constructed in 2005, Talon Hill is located at 1640 Peregrine Vista Heights, near Interstate 25 and Interquest Parkway.
The community, 98 percent occupied at the time of sale, features “Tuscan-style” one-, two- and three-bedroom floor plans with hardwood-style flooring, 9-foot ceilings, attached garages and large living areas. Community amenities include a 24-hour fitness center, and clubhouse with a business center and pool with a sun deck.
The Eagle Ridge community, located at 5275 Hahns Peak Drive, buoys Milestone’s scale in the Denver metro and Northern Colorado area, the buyer noted. The property, built in 1999, comprises entirely one- and two-bedroom units and was around 97 percent occupied.
Eagle Ridge features attached garages, private individual entrances, breakfast bars and “spacious” living areas. The community also features a 24-hour fitness center, clubhouse and pool with sun deck.
“It was a great value-add opportunity up in Loveland that echoes what the whole portfolio was,” noted ARA Newmark’s Terrance Hunt.
McKenna and Hunt, along with ARA Newmark’s Shane Ozment, Jeff Hawks and Doug Andrews, led the local efforts on the disposition of the Colorado properties. ARA Newmark Vice Chairman Marc deBaptiste and Executive Managing Director Patrick Dufour served as the lead advisers working with team members across the country.
The portfolio also included properties in San Antonio, Texas; Charlotte, North Carolina; Oklahoma City; and Orlando, Florida, all of which represented an opportunity to acquire a well-maintained, well-occupied, geographically diverse portfolio of core and core-plus assets, allowing an investor to place significant capital and gain an immediate presence in several highly desirable apartment markets, according to an ARA Newmark release regarding the acquisition.
Milestone’s portfolio comprises 78 properties totaling 24,005 apartments in 14 major metropolitan markets throughout the southeastern and southwestern United States. The REIT is the largest real estate investment trust listed on the TSX focused solely on the United States multifamily sector.
Milestone also owns the 358-unit Canyon Chase and the 221-unit Village at Legacy Heights in Westminster and the 384-unit Legacy Heights in Federal Heights.
