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January 21-February 3, 2015 — COLORADO REAL ESTATE JOURNAL — Page 13
Colorado Springs/So. Front Range
by Jennifer Hayes
Security Properties teamed
with Enterprise Community
Investment Inc. and the Colo-
rado Springs Housing Author-
ity to acquire the 160-unit Win-
field Apartments in Colorado
Springs.
The property at 6134 Rom-
ley Point sold for $13.2 mil-
lion and comprises affordable
apartments for individuals and
families earning less than 60
percent of area median income.
The Winfield Apartments is
the fifth affordable acquisition
by Security Properties in Colo-
rado over the past two years
and the company’s first acqui-
sition in Colorado Springs. It
also represents the second joint
venture between Security and
Enterprise, which purchased
the 220-unit Reserve at North-
glenn Apartments in February.
Built in 2001, the community
was sold by Academy Heights
Housing Partners, a former
affiliate of the Steadfast Com-
panies.
The garden-style apartment
community comprises a mix of
two- and three-bedroom apart-
ments and includes washer
and dryer hookups in each
unit, a fitness center, clubhouse
and playground.
“This was a strategic acqui-
sition that allows ownership
to leverage the strengths of
its operational expertise, as
well as enter the growing and
dynamic market of Colorado
Springs,” said Bryon Gonga-
ware, managing director of
Affordable Housing for Secu-
rity Properties.
Security Properties will
invest capital for improve-
ments to both the interior and
exterior of the property.
The sellers were represented
by Jeff Kunitz and Brandon
Grisham of the Tax Credit
Group of Marcus & Millichap.
The acquisition partnership
assumed existing Fannie Me
financing and sourced a sup-
plemental, co-terminus Fannie
Mae loan through Citi.
With the acquisition of Win-
field, Security Properties owns
approximately 1,660 units in
Colorado.s
Security Properties teamed with Enterprise Community Investment Inc.
and the Colorado Springs Housing Authority to acquire the 160-unit
Winfield Apartments.
actions to an unidentified Boul-
der-based buyer and Steadfast
Apartment REIT, respectively,
for $88.8 million.
Sagebrook, located at 2555
Raywood View, sold for $48.8
million. The 314-unit, Class A
community, constructed in 2001,
features a mix of one-, two- and
three-bedroom units in 15 three-
story buildings.
Apartments feature 9-foot ceil-
ings, walk-in closets, full-size
washers and dryers and covered
patios or terraces. Community
amenities at Sagebrook include
a state-of-the-art fitness center,
swimming pool, all-season spa,
outdoor picnic area with gas bar-
becues, coffee bar, single-stream
recycling program and a north-
east Colorado Springs location.
Additional details about the
buyer and its plans were not
disclosed.
The Oasis, located at 1495
Farnham Point, sold for $40
million. The acquisition of the
252-unit community represents
Steadfast Apartment REIT’s
entry into Colorado.
“We are excited to add The
Oasis to our growing roster of
apartment communities,” said
Ella Shaw Neyland, president
of Steadfast Apartment REIT.
“We believe this property is well
positioned in a market experi-
encing midwage job growth that
is much stronger than the U.S.
average and has limited new
apartment construction.”
Built in 1997 on approximately
15 acres, The Oasis boasts 16
two- and three-story garden-
style buildings with one- and
two-bedroom units with aver-
age in-place rents of $1,102.
Apartments include central air
conditioning, balconies or pati-
os, washers and dryers, walk-in
closets, fireplaces and attached
garages in select units. As of
Dec. 1, occupancy was 96 per-
cent.
The Oasis also features a club-
house and leasing office, fitness
center, swimming pool, hot tub
and business center.
Steadfast plans to initiate a
modest revitalization program
at the northwest Colorado
Springs community as part of
its value enhancement strategy
that will include granite counter
tops, upgraded appliances and
cabinets, vinyl wood floor and
faux wood blinds in select apart-
ments. Steadfast will complete
the interior upgrades as units
turn over.
CBRE’s David Potarf, Dan
Woodward, Matt Barnett and
Jake Young handled the transac-
tion.
“It is one of the nicest 1990s
communities in Colorado
Springs,” said Woodward. “It
has a really good location that
is hard to replicate. It also has
everything you want, attached,
direct-access garages, nice floor
plans and great views.”
Both properties’ sales prices
reflect more than $10 million
increases in value since Griffis
Residential acquired the prop-
erties with its first fund. The
sales price of Sagebrook reflects
an appreciation of $12.6 million
from the purchase price of $36.2
million in July 2008. The Oasis’
sales price reflects an increase in
value of $13 million over a nine-
year holding period.
“Despite acquiring Sagebrook
at the onset of the Great Reces-
sion in 2008, the property per-
formed among the best in the
Griffis Residential portfolio,”
said Griffis Residential Chair-
man Ian Griffis. “We attribute
the success of our Sagebrook
and Oasis investments to our
asset class specialization and
intense focus on management
service, which we believe helps
drive superior financial results
through the best and worst of
market cycles.”
“We are always buying and
always selling,” added Griffis
Residential CEO David Birn-
baum, noting the properties
still fit the firm’s desire for
recent-vintage Class A suburban
properties but were purchased
through the company’s first
fund. Griffis currently is on its
third fund.
“These are two of the nicest
assets in Colorado Springs. They
are two great properties but it
was just the right time to sell,”
he added.
The sale of the apartment
communities is part of Griffis
Residential’s continual program
of buying and selling multifam-
ily properties, noted Birnbaum.
In November, the firm acquired
710 units in Lafayette and Aus-
tin, Texas, the latter as part of
a planned market expansion
beyond the firm’s portfolio in
Colorado and Las Vegas.
Additionally, Griffis Residen-
tial is looking to further expand
in target markets such as Seattle,
Portland, Oregon, Dallas and
California as well as closing on
an additional two communities
in metro Denver and Austin this
month.
Griffis Residential owns and
manages more than 5,400 Class
A apartments in Colorado,
Nevada and Texas. s
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