Engler Financial Group Collecting Bids on Jasmine Woodlands

By Keith Loria, Contributing Writer

Smyrna, Ga.—Engler Financial Group LLC, on behalf of its owner, Lyon Management Co. Inc., recently collected bids to purchase the Smyrna, Ga.-based garden-style apartment community known as Jasmine Woodlands.

Jasmine Woodlands contains 644 units and is conveniently located off the west side of Village Parkway, approximately one-quarter mile south of Windy Hill Road, in Cobb County.

“It’s a value-add opportunity in an infill land market with high areas of entry,” Kris K. Mikkelsen, vice president of Engler Financial Group, tells MHN. “It’s a stabilized Class-B asset with a lot of positives.”

The property was offered for sale at $40,500,000, and with all bids in, a decision on the sale will be made in the upcoming weeks.

Lyon purchased the property in 2006 and has made over $4.6 million in capital improvements, including upgrades to community amenities, correction of deferred maintenance and upgrading the interiors of 162 units.

The unit upgrades consisted of full appliance replacement, new white raised panel cabinet faces, countertop resurfacing, new hardware, and upgraded lighting fixtures.

Mikkelsen says that renovated units at Jasmine Woodlands have helped rental increases of $50 to $75 above comparable non-renovated units and that in February, the property experienced same store rent growth of 4.4 percent on new move-ins.

The Cobb County apartment market has experienced considerable improvement over the last 12 months, according to data released by Dale Henson Associates, Inc. In fact, as of mid-year 2011, effective rents among Class B apartment communities similar to Jasmine Woodlands increased a robust 7.1 percent.

Cobb County’s high barriers-to-entry has resulted in a dramatic slowdown in new apartment development with only 160 new apartment units started between 2008 and midyear 2011, and only 72 of those units being delivered. Still, there have bee 4,757 units absorbed over the last 12 months.

Mikkelsen says that being inside the City of Smyrna is a big benefit for Jasmine Woodlands, as it is considered one of Atlanta’s most up-and-coming “in-town” communities. Smyrna even earned the Urban Land Institute’s Award for Excellence.

With a revitalized downtown area, known as the “Village Green,” which features a new library, community center, retail and mixed-use development, city hall, and new homes, Jasmine Woodlands residents have a plethora of shopping possibilities, including Cumberland Mall, Perimeter Mall, Lenox Square Mall and Phipps Plaza.