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Page 12 — COLORADO REAL ESTATE JOURNAL — January 7-January 20, 2015
Larimer & Weld Counties
by Jill Jamieson-Nichols
A Fort Collins apartment port-
folio that caters to Colorado State
University students sold in a $58
million transaction.
Ohio developers Edward and
Herbert Newman of SummitMan-
agement Services Inc. bought the
Ram’s Crossing portfolio, which
consists of 459 units. The buyers
plan to spend $1.5 million over the
next two years renovating 330 of
the units with new kitchens, baths,
flooring and appliance upgrades.
“Since our first venture into the
Rocky Mountain markets in 2008,
we have had considerable success
in increasing multifamily asset
values in secondary and tertiary
markets,”Amit Pollachek, Summit
Management Services executive
vice president, said in a statement.
“The Fort Collinsmarket continues
to offer the lowest vacancy rates
in the country. All of our proper-
ties are 100 percent occupied. With
their close proximity to CSU, the
Ram’s Crossing properties are a
great addition.”
CBRE’s David Potarf, Dan
Woodward, Matt Barnett and Jake
Young handled the transaction. It
included:
• Ram’s Crossing Apartments,
147 units, built
from 1968 to
2003;
• The Lofts
at Ram’s
Crossing, 30
units, built in
2007;
• Ram’s
Crossing West
Condos, 134
units, con-
structed in 1987;
• Ram’s Crossing at Campus, 90
units, completed in 1974;
• The Flats at Ram’s Crossing, 36
units, built in 2013, and
• The Townhomes at Ram’s
Crossing, 22 units, completed
in 1997.
The communities are located
at 1117 City Park Ave., 908 and
914 W. Lake St., and 2155 Orchard
Place. They offer a wide variety
of product and unit mix, includ-
ing studios; one-, two- and three-
bedroomapartments; and loft- and
townhome-style units.
The properties sold for an aver-
age of $126,361 per unit.
Most of the units are located in
close proximity to the campus.
“They are all prettywell occupied,”
said Potarf.
Northern Colorado’s apartment
vacancy rate is 3.59 percent, but it
wouldbeeven lowerwere it not for
units being vacated because of ren-
ovation at a Fort Collins property,
according toApartment Insights.
Affiliates of Boulder-based Wal-
nut & Main Real Estate Co. sold
the Ram’s Crossing portfolio in an
off-market transaction. The port-
folio was assembled over sever-
al years. After learning the seller
was interested in disposing of the
assets, Potarf approached Akron,
Ohio-based Summit Management
because of its desire to acquire
additional properties in Fort Col-
lins.
Summit Management Servic-
es’ other Fort Collins properties
include the Arbors at Sweetgrass,
Stone Creek Apartment Homes
and the Landmark Apartments.
The acquisition brings the compa-
ny’s portfolio to 4,500 units nation-
wideand1,006units inFortCollins.
“We have owned in Fort Collins
since 2007 and love the growth of
themarket and the growthof Colo-
rado State University,” said Sum-
mit Management President Doran
D’Avello.
The portfolio was purchased
for SMSI by Summit MultiCapital
LLC, Summit Management Servic-
es’ acquisition and financing arm.
It was financed through U.S. Bank,
Cleveland, in conjunction with JS
MultiCapital Corp.s
Ram’s Crossing at Campus was part of a portfolio of properties acquired by Edward and Herbert Newman of
Summit Management Services.
Ram’s Crossing West Condos consists of 134 units.
David Potarf
by Jill Jamieson-Nichols
There’s been a lot of talk over
the years about the need for a
hotel and meeting space in
downtown Fort Collins, and now
it looks like it is going to happen.
McWhinney, Sage Hospital-
ity and investors including the
Bohemian Cos. are planning an
approximately 165-roomhotel on
the former Armadillo restaurant
site at 354Walnut St. McWhinney
and Sage will lease the two-acre
site from the Bohemian Cos.
“Because of its central down-
town location, we believe this site
is well-situated for a hotel,” said
Bohemian Cos. CEO Joe Zimlich.
“There is so much momentum
in downtown Fort Collins, and
it now offers a vibrant mix of
retail, residential and civic areas.
However, the area has needed
a limited number of additional
hotel rooms for many years.
“We believe this hotel is a need-
ed piece that can contribute to the
by Jill Jamieson-Nichols
The city of Evans has pinpointed
12 acres at U.S. Highway 85 and
31st Street for a catalyst project to
spark activity along the Highway
85 corridor.
The Evans Redevelopment
Agency bought the property at
the southwest corner of the inter-
section earlier this year in a $3.29
million assemblage. It will work
directly with retailers, as well as
withdevelopers and the brokerage
community, to secure large-scale
retail development for the site,
which is within an urban renewal
area.
“We look at this as a catalyst
project,” said Economic Develop-
ment Director Sheryl Trent. “Since
we own the land, we can partner
in all sorts of ways to get the right
retailer,” she said.
“If we’re patient enough and
we’re able to attract the right kind
of retail development, we can
create a project here that is not a
standalone project.”
The property is within the 335-
acre Highway 85 Urban Renewal
Area, which provides tools such
as tax increment financing to help
fund development as it occurs.
More specifically, the site lies
within the 31/85 Urban Reinvest-
ment Project area, a 93-acre area
that developed in themid-1970s as
Highway 85 evolved into a major
transportation corridor and that
has declined due to a lack of rein-
vestment.
Evans this year adopted a new
master plan for the Highway 85
corridor with very specific zoning
code definitions for specific parts
of the corridor. It calls for a regional
retail center on all four corners of
the 31st Street-Highway 85 inter-
section with uses such as grocery,
hotel/motel, cultural amenities
and a strong, smaller retail com-
ponent, all integrated with com-
munitygathering spaces. Develop-
ment on the southwest corner, it’s
hoped, will spur development on
the other three corners.
In addition to significant traf-
fic patterns, the Highway 85-31st
Street intersection has visibil-
ity from Highway 34, and a retail
study done for the city determined
it has the best demographics in
Evans for that type of develop-
ment, said Trent.
She noted large-scale retailers
The city of Evans and Evans Redevelopment Agency are seeking regional retail development for a catalyst site
at the southwest corner of Highway 85 and 31st Street.