CREJ - Journal

35 / 100

July 1-July 14, 2015 — COLORADO REAL ESTATE JOURNAL — Page 35
Multifamily
by John Rebchook
Atlanta-based Wood Partners
was one of the first out-of-state
apartment developers to realize
the underlying strength of the
Denver area market.
Since opening a Denver office
eight years ago, it has devel-
oped six apartment communi-
ties with a total of 1,300 units.
It is about to launch its sev-
enth.
However, as other developers
entered the market, resulting
in almost unprecedented apart-
ment building, Wood Partners
pulled back.
“We were very active coming
out of the recession,” said Jack
Kachadurian,
a multifam-
ily invest-
ment and
development
s p e c i a l i s t ,
who recently
was hired to
be the vice
president of
development
for the Den-
ver and Rocky Mountain mar-
kets for Wood Partners.
“As supply came on line,
we took a step back to see if
demand would remain as
strong for Class A apartments
in Denver,” said Kachadurian,
a graduate of Regis University.
After examining things
such as absorption, current
and future projected demand
and costs over an 11-month to
16-month period, Wood Part-
ners is ramping back up.
“We searched nationally for
someone with Jack’s depth of
experience,” said Timothy M.
McEntee, director of Wood
Partners’ Rocky Mountain and
Midwest regions.
“Jack knows the local Den-
ver market, and this hire shows
Wood Partners’ commitment to
that market,” McEntee said.
Wood Partners in the past
has had great success with both
urban and suburban develop-
ments in Denver.
“A lot of people are going to
the downtown core to build,”
Kachadurian said.
While Wood Partners would
consider opportunities down-
town, going forward it is focus-
ing on suburban locations
It is especially interested in
sites on the west, southwest
and northwest parts of the
metro area, he said.
“We are very cognizant that
people really like these loca-
tions,” he said.
“People enjoy the open spac-
es and that you are not only
close to downtown Denver, but
you are close to all of the nature
amenities and open space along
the Front Range,” Kachadurian
said.
“Plus, you are that much clos-
er to the mountains,” he said.
And of the long-term outlook
for downtown, “When you
break it down the micro mar-
kets of places like RiNo and
Ballpark, we still think that it
will take a little bit of time to
absorb all of those new units,”
he said.
Long-term, however, there is
no doubt that downtown Den-
ver will be a great place, espe-
cially with a new King Soopers
and Whole Foods opening, he
said.
The west side, and other sub-
urban locations, do not have the
concerns of overbuilding.
Wood Partners, he said, typi-
cally will build communities
with 250 to 350 units.
“From an economic stand-
point, it is hard to provide the
kind of amenities that people
want, such as recreation cen-
ters and swimming pools, with
fewer than 200 units,” Kachadu-
rian said.
The kitchen/living area of a unit at Alta City House
Wood Partners developed and sold the LEED certified Alta Aspen Grove
in Littleton.
Jack Kachadurian