Avanti Residential, Trinity Investors Partner on $45M Denver Property

Sunset Peak. Image courtesy of Avanti Residential

Avanti Residential and Trinity Investors have teamed up for the first time in the Denver market with the $45 million acquisition and recapitalization of Sunset Peak Apartment Homes, a 184-unit multifamily property in Thornton, Colo.

The partners are planning about $5.3 million in improvements to the townhome-style property north of downtown Denver. Plans call for approximately $3 million to be used for apartment interior upgrades including adding new lighting fixtures and cabinet fronts, new appliances and luxury vinyl tile flooring to 147 units. Exterior improvements will include resurfacing parking areas and installing new roofs on three buildings. Amenities will also be improved, including adding a new fitness center and upgrading the pool and playground areas.

Christian Garner, president of Denver-based Avanti Residential, said in a prepared statement the acquisition and recapitalization will continue the work the firm began on 20 percent of the apartment interiors in 2019 and 2020 and reposition the project to offer a higher quality resident experience.

He said Trinity Investors, based in Southlake, Texas, and Avanti were drawn to the venture because of the attractive basis of $245,000 per unit versus the entry price for new construction. Garner said there is also increasing demand for rental housing in the Thornton submarket, where there is a highly constrained development pipeline.

Garner acknowledged the challenging apartment investment environment over the past year but said sound opportunities have also become available and Avanti can apply its real estate experience and market knowledge with new and existing investor relationships to deliver attractive risk-adjusted returns.

Sunset Peak is located at 475 Russell Blvd., just off Interstate 25 and Thornton Parkway and a 15-minute drive to Denver’s central business district. The community has a mix of two- and three-bedroom townhomes on a 12-acre property with spacious green areas. In addition to the swimming pool and playground areas which will be upgraded, amenities include a splash pad, grilling station and dog park.

Earlier deals

Avanti owns and manages approximately 9,000 apartments, roughly 25 percent of which are in metro Denver and Colorado Springs, Colo. The firm also has holdings in Arizona, Florida, Utah and the greater Kansas City market in both Kansas and Missouri. Avanti purchased Artistry Apartments, a 341-unit community on the Missouri side, from Millhaus in October for $94 million, and rebranded it as Arte KC.

In November, Avanti formed a joint venture with FCP to acquire Omnia on Thomas, a 382-unit apartment community in Phoenix for $65 million. It was the second partnership between Avanti and FCP. The two firms had previously teamed up in July to acquire Heights on Huron, a 252-unit garden-style apartment community in Northglenn, Colo., for $55 million. Also in July, Avanti acquired Downtown Miami’s newly built luxury community Soleste Grand Central from seller The Estate Cos., for $181 million.