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Page 18 — COLORADO REAL ESTATE JOURNAL — May 6-May 19, 2015
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And Bell wasn’t the only one
interested in buying the property.
“There were 20 competitive
offers on the property given the
market’s strong fundamentals,”
Ozment said.
Hunt said they only shopped
the community to 20 extremely
qualified buyers.
“There are only somany groups
that can write checks of this size,”
Hunt said.
In addition to the 20 prospec-
tive buyers that ARA Newmark
approached, another five found
out it was on the market and
showed an interest in buying it.
In fact, Bell was one of those
interested parties that was not on
the original list of 20.
“They learned about it from a
former equity partner they had
on another acquisition,” Hunt
said. (The deed for the purchase
of Horizons at Rock Creek indi-
cates that CH Realty, or Crow
Holdings, was involved in the
purchase. Crow Holdings may be
Bell’s equity partner on the deal,
but an official from Bell declined
to discuss Bell’s relation with CH
Realty.)
In any case, Ozment is exact-
ly right, Hunt said, as far as the
response frompotential buyers.
“Of the 25 who looked at it, we
received 20 offers,” Hunt said.
Bell had wanted to enter the
market for the past year or so,
Hunt said.
“Denver is one of the strongest
apartment markets in the coun-
try and the purchase of Bell Flat-
irons provides us with an excel-
lent opportunity to continue our
strategic expansion beyond our
current East Coast and Southwest
markets,” Jon Bell, the president
of his namesake company said
last month, after the acquisition
closed.
“Furthermore, it is consistent
with our strategy to expand our
footprint into high-growth, liq-
uid and institutionally desirable
markets that have compelling eco-
nomic and apartment growth fun-
damentals,” Bell said
Despite its lofty price tag, it also
is a value-add deal, given its age,
Hunt said.
The propertywas built inphases
between 1997 and 1999 and was
96 percent occupied when it sold.
“They are probably going to put
$10,000 or so into each unit,”Hunt
said.
Simpson Housing already had
renovated 143 of the apartment
units, adding things such as gran-
ite countertops inkitchens, he said.
Even if Bell spends another $10
million on the community, it will
have purchased it below replace-
ment cost, according to Hunt.
“Of course, in today’s world,
replacement cost is not applica-
ble,” Hunt said.
That is because Superior would
never allow such a massive com-
munity to be built, he said.
The community also is packed
with amenities and is blessedwith
an unbeatable location, Hunt said.
A lot of the renters work in the
high-tech industry in the nearby
Interlocken business park, he said.
“It’s also a top choice for people
who are priced out of Boulder’s
housing market,” Hunt said.
Loaded with amenities, it sports
a 24,000-sf resort-style clubhouse,
an indoor basketball court, two
racquetball courts, four swimming
pools and a large fitness room.
“It even has an actual beach,”
Hunt said. “You don’t find many
beaches in Colorado.”
Despite the record price, Simp-
son Housing really didn’t want to
sell it, Hunt said.
Instead, it plans to focus on its
newer projects in Denver, which
include the 165-unit Hartley Flats
at 27th, the 114-unit Studio LoHi
and the 354-unit Skyhouse, a part-
nership deal withNovare andBat-
son Cook Development.
“Simpson Housing (which has
no relation to the Simpson family)
is overallocated as far as units in
this market,” Hunt said.
“They want to own and build
newer stuff in Denver and the
easiest way to achieve that goal
and be properly allocated was to
sell their biggest asset,” he said.
Bob Love, CEO of Simpson
Housing, admitted that it really
liked owning Horizons at Rock
Creek.
"The sale of Horizons at Rock
Creek is a bittersweet moment
for Simpson Housing,” Love said
after the sale.
“The property has been an abso-
lute cornerstone of our portfolio
and its development and perfor-
mance over the years will stand
as one of our company's finest
achievements,” Love said.
“As we approached the 20th
anniversary of our involvement
with the property, the health of the
Denver apartment market encour-
aged us to pursue of sale of this
great asset so that we could focus
on newopportunities in our home
market of Denver,” Love said.
However, he said he thinks the
new owners will do a good job.
“We are so happy to hand over
the stewardship of theHorizons at
Rock Creek to Bell Partners,” Love
said. “We are confident the prop-
erty will continue to excel under
its management and guidance.”s
tenant demand, high occu-
pancy levels and rental rates,”
James Farrar, company CEO,
said in a statement.
“Superior Pointe's elevated
location off the U.S. 36 highway
offers unobstructed mountain
views and easy access to near-
by restaurant and retail ameni-
ties, including Superior Mar-
ketplace and FlatIron Crossing.
This submarket continues to
attract high-quality tenants,
including leading technology
and financial services firms,
due to its close proximity to
Boulder, the University of Col-
orado, surrounding executive
housing and some of the best
amenities in Denver,” he said.
“Because Superior Pointe
is one of the premier quality
properties in the area, it is able
to offer a strong value proposi-
tion to attract and retain ten-
ants," Farrar continued. "We
are pleased with Superior
Pointe's acquisitionmetrics and
discount to replacement cost.
The expected year one cash
net operating income yield is
7.5 percent upon the comple-
tion of our planned improve-
ments, including a resurfaced
parking lot. The buildings were
constructed in 2000 and are
in very good condition with
quality finishes and efficient
floor plates for both single and
multitenant use."
City Office REIT’s first acqui-
sition in the Denver area was
the Plaza 25 office complex in
Greenwood Village, which it
bought last summer for $25.1
million. The company focuses
on high-quality office prop-
erties in “attractive markets”
primarily in the Southern and
Western United States. It cur-
rently owns or has interest in
2.4 million sf.s