Dominium Acquires Its First Arkansas Community
The 120-unit, 15-year-old apartment community is located in Maumelle, Ark., a near northwest suburb of Little Rock.
Minneapolis—Apartment development and management company Dominium acquired its first rental property in the state of Arkansas, The Gables of Maumelle.
The 120-unit, 15-year-old apartment community is located in Maumelle, Ark., a near northwest suburb of Little Rock. The apartment community features one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments, and amenities that include a business center, playground, pool, clubhouse, disability access, emergency maintenance, extra storage and on-site maintenance and management. The community is located near hospitals, public transportation and shopping.
The units include central heat and air conditioning, a dishwasher, garbage disposal, ice maker, stove, refrigerator and more.
“This property no longer fit the portfolio of the people who owned it,” Mark Sween, Dominium vice president and project partner, told MHN.
“It wasn’t at the core of where their business was going. They are in California; this is in Arkansas. We’re all over, and the idea of expanding into Arkansas fit us well. It’s in a very nice area of Little Rock and is a nicely constructed property. So it fit us, but didn’t really fit the seller. And because the property is in such good condition and is so well occupied, it was not much of a management issue for us.”
In addition, Sween noted many of the buildings Dominium has acquired were distressed before the company took them over. “This was way over on the non-distressed side,” he said. “We’ll do a number of little things to fit the Dominium standard, and then really continue and improve on what was already established.”
“This is Dominium’s first property in Arkansas, and is a great opportunity to acquire affordable housing in the state, specifically the Little Rock metro,” noted Kit Bennett, development staff associate. “We have several significant enhancements planned for the property that will improve the property and surrounding neighborhood.”
The Gables of Maumelle will receive extensive renovations to the clubhouse and pool. These upgrades will include new furniture, artworks, planning and a new fully-equipped fitness room.
All units will get new washers and dryers, and new flooring, appliances and other improvements will be added to select units. The property will also receive new lighting, updated signage and major landscaping enhancements.
According to Sween, keys to the acquisition were the upside of the market and whether Dominium could benefit over a longer period.
“This is an area to which people will always want to move, largely for the opportunity for their children,” he said. “Anyone with those kinds of aspirations will probably be a wonderful resident.”