Colorado Real Estate Journal - July 1, 2015
A social impact real estate company acquired its first Colorado apartment community with its purchase of the Advenir at Cheyenne Crossing. OpenPath Investments LLC of California paid $25 million, or $113,636 per unit, for the 220-unit, Class B apartment community, renamed Cheyenne Crossing Apartments, at 640 Wycliffe Drive in Colorado Springs. OPI, which organized and sponsored the deal, identifies existing rental apartment properties with value-add/operational upside in the Western U.S. with 100-plus units that provide workforce hosing. At Cheyenne Crossing, a Class B-plus asset in an “A” location, OPI will provide minor exterior capital expenditures, close the gap between in-place rents, conduct light interior renovations on 41 units and add washers and dryers inside units to further push rents. “All of OPI properties cultivate healthy and thriving communities through social stewardship, open feedback loops and respect for all parties and viewpoints. We measure returns not only financially but also socially and environmentally. OPI strives to create a sense of ‘place’ at each of our properties whereby residents and employees are supported and communities ultimately thrive,” OPI founder and Managing Partner Peter Slaugh said in a release. Additionally, each OPI property incorporates the urban village program based on the premise that residents operate stronger as a collective community rather than as individuals. The firm noted that core to its mission, the program attempts to unlock the unlimited potential that community and healthy living spaces can achieve. The community, constructed in 1986, received substantial interest from a wide range of qualified investment groups, noted ARA Newmark’s Kevin McKenna. “It's not often a property comes on the market in the Broadmoor area. Top-ranked schools, strong incomes and high-end homes make this one of the best locations in all of Colorado Springs. It's a submarket that has high barriers to entry, low vacancy and some of the highest rents in town,” said McKenna, who with ARA Newmark’s Doug Andrews, Jeff Hawks and Saul Levy represented the seller, Advenir, in the transaction. “We continue to see buyers from all over the country looking at Colorado Springs as a market that has a bright future,” McKenna added. The southwest submarket, where Cheyenne Crossing is located, experienced 9.7 percent rent growth from first-quarter 2014 to firstquarter 2015. With strong rent growth like this, more buyers are focusing on Colorado markets for future multifamily acquisitions, he commented. As well, Cheyenne Crossing benefited from recent capital improvements totaling more than $1.5 million as Advenir invested more than $600,000 in a unit upgrade program that featured new, black appliances, plank faux-wood flooring, twoinch blinds, and updated cabinets and countertops. Advenir also added new roofs as well as a completely renovated leasing center/clubhouse, pool and hot tub area at the community, which features one- and twobedroom units. Even with the capital improvements, McKenna said OPI will have ample opportunity to drive more revenue with its planned improvements and the addition of washers and dryers to units. OPI has been investing in multifamily acquisitions for more than a decade, trading in and out of more than 2,100 apartment units with a total acquisition value exceeding $200 million and a historical internal rate of return of 17 to 20-plus percent. The company strategy is to continue generating above-market investment returns alongside measureable social and environmental impact.
-Island Cattle Company LLC recently purchased a 10,261-square-foot automotive building in Colorado Springs for $785,000. The freestanding building at 5706 S. Carefree Circle, off Carefree and North Powers Boulevard, was sold by JPMorgan Chase Bank NA. The building, constructed in 2007, has five automotive bays. Matt Call of NavPoint Real Estate Group represented the buyer. Brian Wagner of Newmark Grubb Knight Frank represented the seller. -Playdate Inc. recently paid $1.2 million for 20,075 sf of office space at 6040 and 6050 Erin Park Drive in Colorado Springs. The buyer was represented by Russell Stroud of Quantum Commercial. The seller, Jerald M. Barnett Revocable Trust, was represented by Aaron Horn of Colorado Springs Commercial, a Cushman & Wakefield Alliance.