A “one-of-a-kind” apartment asset sold to a Denver-based buyer – one of a dozen groups competing for Bonterra Lakeside and indicative of the draw of Colorado Springs’ multifamily market.
Bonterra Lakeside Apartments LLC, a limited liability company formed by Coughlin & Co., a Denver-based real estate firm, paid $28.6 million, according to public records for the 156-unit Bonterra Lakeside.
“Bonterra Lakeside is truly a one-of-a-kind asset for its vintage. For this vintage, there is nothing else like it. They don’t build them like this anymore,” said Kevin McKenna of ARA Newmark. “It has an unbelievable setting, on top of a hill, overlooking Quail Lake in the high-end Broadmoor area.”
The community features concrete tilt-up construction, units that average 1,100 sf, garages for every unit, washer and dryer hookups and has the bones of an 80s or newer community, added McKenna, who handled the sale with ARA Newmark’s Saul Levy.
The pair represented the seller, Griffis/Blessing Inc., which had purchased Bonterra Lakeside in 2012 for $16.45 million, per public records.
“We had a dozen-plus groups fighting over this. It was a very attractive asset in the Broadmoor area. Colorado Springs is one of the top markets in the country, so we’re getting lots of interest from around the country,” said McKenna.
“Colorado Springs is checking a lot of boxes, not just from a rent growth or vacancy standpoint,” continued McKenna. The city’s job growth and record-low unemployment coupled with the high barriers to entry in the southwest Colorado Springs market as well as a lack of any market-rate projects in the pipeline – the last being built more than 15 years ago – was a draw for buyers to this asset and the market.
More than half of the investors looking at Bonterra were new to the market, added McKenna.
Constructed in 1973, the community at 890 Quail Lake Circle features a mix of one-, two- and three-bedroom units.
Coughlin & Co. acquired the community as a value-add opportunity with plans to renovate interiors of the property.
With the acquisition, Coughlin & Co. owns more than 720 units in the Colorado Springs market. It also owns the Copper Chase, Glen at Briargate and Parc at Briargate communities.
