Colorado Real Estate Journal - April 6, 2016
A 69-unit apartment community sold to a California buyer for $22.08 million, achieving a record price per bed for the Boulder market. First Range Management of Boulder sold the Boulder View Apartments, located at 6655 Lookout Road in northeast Boulder, to LandBank Investments LLC of Menlo Park, California. Completed in 2014, the property was 97 percent leased at the time of the sale. “Boulder View is a great example of the tremendous demand for multifamily investment in the city of Boulder , ” said Matt Barnett, first vice president in CBRE’s Denver Multifamily Investment Properties group. “After finding deep buyer pools for several value-add properties in Boulder over the past year, such as Cavalier, Osage, Thunderbird and Eagles Nest, the appetite for new property was just as strong,” he said. “At $320,000 per unit and $403 per square foot, the per-bed price of $262,857 is the highest paid in the market even among several high-profile student housing sales,” said Barnett. While Two Nine North in Boulder still holds the record for the highest per-unit price for an apartment community, at $392,857, the per-bed price is another metric apartment experts consider in markets with a high percentage of student housing. Boulder View consists of three three-story buildings that include a mix of studio, one- and two-bedroom apartments with an average size of 795 sf. First Range Management developed the property with a focus on high-quality construction and amenities, according to CBRE. The apartments feature sound-resistant windows and flooring, an on-demand hot-water system, built-in wine racks, recreational storage with bike and ski racks, and full-size washers and dryers. Community amenities include an elevated swim spa and hot tub, outdoor kitchen and fire pits, a dog park and electric vehicle charging stations. Boulder has some of the highest land prices and impact fees in the Denver region, which make new apartment development challenging, according to CBRE. But as home prices continue to escalate, demand for rental options has grown, and new high-quality apartments like Boulder View have been readily absorbed. “The buyer appreciated the combination of legacy quality construction and high barriers to entry within the Boulder market,” said Dave Potarf, senior vice president, CBRE Denver Multifamily Investment Properties. “Boulder View will prove to be an excellent long-term investment for the buyer as the market continues to strengthen.” According to Barnett, there were seven or eight offers for the property, and LandBank Investments stood out. “They were in an exchange and they had a short due diligence period,” he said, adding the company also was under contract on Arterra Place in Aurora, which it since acquired. “We felt confident with their offer and ability to execute,” Barnett said. Barnett said the property, which would be small for institutional investors, was perfect for investors such as LandBank. “It really was ideally suited to an exchange buyer, a private capital buyer, that had a need to place capital with a look toward long-term capital preservation,” he said. Located along the Diagonal Highway, Boulder View is close to major employers including IBM, Qualcomm and Covidien. Barnett and Potarf represented the seller with Dan Woodward, also of CBRE Denver Multifamily Investment Properties.