Bell Partners Buys 560 Units in Atlanta
The new owner plans to rebrand the community.
Bell Partners is expanding its Atlanta footprint with its acquisition of Rock Springs Village, a 558-unit garden-style community in Atlanta. Purchased on behalf of the firm’s Bell Value Add Fund VIII, the property is being rebranded as Bell Rock Springs.
A sale price and seller were not disclosed. According to Yardi Matrix, the asset had been previously owned by Jamestown. Located at 550 Rock Springs Court NE in northeast Atlanta, Jamestown acquired the 28-acre property, then known as Gables Rock Springs, from Gables Residential for $145.2 million, according to Yardi Matrix data. The company refinanced the property in March 2021 with an $87.9 million loan from Landesbank Baden-Wurttemberg, the same source shows.
Bell Value Add Fund VIII closed in June 2023 at $1.3 billion. The fund targets well-located, market-rate apartments in 14 target markets, including Dallas, Seattle, Denver and Boston.
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With this purchase, Bell Partners now owns or manages 17 communities totaling approximately 5,500 units across the metro Atlanta region. The property is adjacent to Bell Morningside, a 110-unit apartment community the company acquired in 2022.
Nickolay Bochilo, Bell Partners’ chief investment officer, said in prepared remarks that the firm pursues investment opportunities that can benefit from the company’s operating platform. Bell Partners is a privately held apartment investment and management company that operates approximately 85,000 units in 12 regions across the U.S. in regions including Seattle, the San Francisco Bay Area, Southern California, Denver, Dallas-Fort Worth, Central and Southeast Florida, Washington, D.C., Boston, Charlotte and Raleigh.
Bell Partners’ big plans
Bochilo said the Greensboro, N.C.-based company is planning upgrades to common areas, individual apartment homes and resident services following the trade. The community has two pools, two fitness centers, a large clubroom and outdoor areas.
The property was completed in three phases in 1987, 2003 and 2005 and features garden, loft, flat and townhome floorplans averaging 1,045 square feet. Rents range from $1,758 to $3,535, with an average of $2,013, according to Yardi Matrix data.
There are 21 two-, three- and four-story buildings. The apartments have above standard ceiling heights and washer/dryer hookups in all units. Fireplaces, hardwood floors, balconies or patios and direct access garages are available in select units. The property has a multilevel parking structure with 974 spaces. Detached garages are available for an additional fee.
Residents will have access to shopping, dining and entertainment destinations at Ansley Mall and Emory Village. Emory University and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are located nearby.
Expansions elsewhere
Also this month, Bell Partners acquired The Albee Apartments, a 355-unit multifamily property in the Dallas submarket of Frisco, Texas, on behalf of the same fund.
The firm is rebranding the recently completed property under the Bell Southstone Yards name and plans to complete lease-up over the next 18 months. The asset, part of the Southstone Yards master plan, had been owned by a joint venture between Quarterra Multifamily and Crow Holdings, according to Yardi Matrix. Southstone Yards, which is owned by several companies including Crow Holdings and Rosewood Property Co., will include office space, a luxury hotel and restaurant, as well as a central park and walking paths when construction finishes.
Earlier this year, the company acquired three multifamily properties through the same fund. Bell Partners paid $264.3 million for the assets in Florida and Colorado in three separate transactions.
