Bascom Acquires Dallas Apartment High-Rise

Dallas–The Bascom Group L.L.C.  has acquired the Davis Building in Dallas, an infill mixed-use property including 183 loft-style apartment units, 52,200 feet of retail space and a 600-space parking garage. Originally built in 1926 in the Main Street District of downtown as headquarters for Republic National Bank, which left in the 1950s, the property was converted from offices into high-end apartments in the early 2000s.

Its previous owner, Hamilton Properties, had been unable to refinance the debt on the 20-story property, which came due last year, so Bascom purchased it through a receivership sale with debt financing provided by J. E. Robert Cos. Ryan Epstein of Marcus & Millichap represented both parties in the deal. Entrada Partners will be the onsite property management, while LAZ Parking will oversee the property’s parking component.

The Davis Building occupies 0.78 acres and consists of one-, two- and three-bedroom configurations with an average unit size of 1,036 square feet. Common amenities include a rooftop garden, swimming pool and jacuzzi; a cabana lounge with television; a fitness facility; underground tunnel access to nearby commercial buildings; an enclosed dog park on the top floor of the parking structure; and a private loading dock. Unit amenities include terrazzo flooring, black granite countertops, 12- to 20-foot ceilings, stained maple wood kitchen cabinetry, a full appliance package, Ron Rezek vanity lighting, granite vanities and walk-in closets.

The property also has a TOD element. One block north of the Davis Building is a Dallas Area Rapid Transit light-rail station that will provide residents access to various parts of the metroplex.

The purchase expanded Bascom’s Texas portfolio to 24 properties totaling 8,480 units. The Irvine, Calif.-based apartment specialist began acquiring properties in California in the 1990s and now has about 33,000 units nationwide.

It’s currently a hot time in the metro Dallas-Fort Worth apartment market. During the first quarter of 2011, according to MPF Research, apartment vacancies dipped below 9 percent and the average rental rate was up 3 percent compared with the same quarter in 2010. Developers have responded to increasing demand; during the last six months, more than 3,200 rental housing units were started in the metro area.